Healthcare errors: Every fifth treatment carries risks

Healthcare errors: Every fifth treatment carries risks

In Germany there are alarming reports on the safety of medical treatments. At an event in Berlin, the medical service presented its annual statistics 2023, which shows that 75 patients died as a result of serious treatment errors last year. These misconception, which are classified as "never events", are serious medical mistakes that, according to experts, should never occur. Examples of such errors are the confusion of patients or the wrong administration of medication.

The health authorities registered around 150 of these serious incidents last year. This is part of a major problem in healthcare. In 2022 there were still 84 deaths due to treatment errors, which underlines the urgency of the situation.

procedure for message and clarification

The CEO of the Medical Service, Stefan Gronemeyer, calls for a mandatory reporting system for such incidents because there is currently no standardized approach. The current process is rudimentary: Patients who believe that they have made a mistake must contact their health insurance company, who then commissioned the medical service to check the case. This is the only way to get into the statistics. This means that many cases of treatment errors are not recorded.

consequences of the treatment errors

The effects of such errors can be devastating. While in most cases (65.5 percent) the damage is only temporary, around 29.7 percent of the patients concerned suffer permanent impairments. The medical service found that 180 of the permanent damage caused by the errors were classified as difficult last year, which means that patients are in need of care, blind or paralyzed, for example. Experts estimate that avoidable damage occurs in one percent of all inpatient treatments, with around 17,000 avoidable deaths in German hospitals be accepted annually.

Another worrying aspect form the dark numbers of treatment errors, which are probably much higher than registered. In order to learn from these incidents and avoid mistakes, the medical service requires systematic monitoring and a pseudonymized reporting obligation.

The criticism of the current error management culture in German healthcare becomes increasingly louder. Eugen Brysch, the board of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, expressed that patients in Germany were often abandoned. The required error culture does not take place, which leads to insufficient processing of the incidents.

A call to improve patient safety

The reports on treatment errors in Germany throw an urgent light on the need for reforms in healthcare. While the system exists for dealing with treatment errors, it is evident that improvements in transparency and error management are required to ensure higher patient safety. It remains to be hoped that there will soon be positive changes through intensive discussions and measures that strengthen the trust of the patients in medical care.

In the healthcare system, treatment errors represent a serious problem that not only affects patients' trust in medical institutions, but also has significant economic consequences. A current investigation shows that the treatment of complications caused by treatment errors brings additional costs for the health system. These can result from expenses for follow -up measures, rehabilitation and a possibly extended hospital stay.

According to an investigation by the Bertelsmann Foundation from 2020, the estimated costs for avoidable treatment errors in German clinics amount to several billion euros a year. A significant number of patients - around 12,000 to 15,000 - are damaged annually by treatment errors. The recording and systematic analysis of these errors could help improve the overall quality of medical care in Germany.

Improvement of security culture in healthcare

In order to avoid treatment errors, an improvement in security culture in medical facilities is required worldwide. In many countries, such as the USA and Great Britain, reporting and error management systems have already been established that aim to learn from mistakes and avoid them in the future. The implementation of such systems could help reduce the number of "never events" in Germany.

The Federal Ministry of Health has emphasized that error registration systems have to be implemented, but the practical implementation often remains behind expectations. Experts like Gronemeyer and Brysch therefore not only call for better documentation, but also training courses for medical staff and a more open culture of errors to promote trust in treatment.

Legislative initiatives and reforms

The legislator is under pressure to introduce concrete reforms to reduce treatment errors. In other European countries, such as the Netherlands, legal regulations have already been introduced, which prescribe comprehensive error reporting and analysis. These regulations have led to a significant reduction in the error rate.

In order to achieve such progress in Germany, it is necessary to check the existing structures and, if necessary, adjust. The pressure of patient organizations and experts in healthcare could lead to the political table to improve patient safety.

Overall, the current discussion about treatment errors shows how important it is to take this topic seriously and to bring it into the broad social debate. This is the only way to restore and strengthen the trust of patients in medical care in the long term.