According to an April 17 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), health care providers profit from their own mistakes and negligence because they get paid by insurers for longer patient stays and the extra care that is required to treat surgical complications that may have well been prevented. The JAMA study analyzed nine common surgical procedures and 10 major complications across four payer types.
The study is based on a detailed analysis of 34,256 patient records involving those who had surgery in the year 2010 at one of 12 hospitals. Of those records, the study found that 1,820 patients or 5 percent suffered one or more complications that could have been prevented such as blood clots, pneumonia or infected wounds. The hospitals then ted because the median length of stay for patients who suffered complications quadrupled to 14 days and hospital revenues shot up from $18,900 per patient to $49,400.
When your loved one is in need of a Pennsylvania nursing home or hospital you need to do your homework. You can see citations the home you are considering has received in the past, on the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s website. You can find a link to the site on Schmidt Kramer’s website.
If you believe that you or a loved one have been injured by sub-standard care at a Central Pa nursing home or hospital call a Pennsylvania nursing home lawyer at Schmidt Kramer. Call us at (717) 888-8888 if you are local to Harrisburg, or call us toll-free at (717) 888-8888.
You may also want to download one of the free publications we offer on our website.