US Medical Errors Cost Insurers Up To $1.5 Billion A Year

By Diane Anderson

According to a new study published in the Health Services Research journal, preventing medical errors would reduce not only loss of life, but also healthcare expenses by up to 30 percent.

William Encinosa, co-author of the study, together with his colleagues, tracked insurance claims for 5.6 million enrollees from 2001 to 2002. The team reached the conclusion that the consequences medical errors have persist for a long time after patient’s discharge.

U.S. researchers disclosed that the considerable difference in calculations for medical error costs can signify that interventions to raise patients’ safety, such as bringing more hospital staff, could be more profitable than previously considered.

As shown by a government report available since Monday, avoidable medical errors during or after surgical procedures result in an estimated 10% of surgery-related deaths. Such fatal mistakes may cost hospitals almost $1.5 billion every year.

Insurers had to pay an extra $28,218 (52 percent more) and an extra $19,480 (48 percent more) for patients who experienced acute respiratory failure or infections which appeared after surgery, in contrast with patients who didn’t undergo either medical error, researchers found.

Errors linked to nursing care, such as pressure ulcers and hip fractures, added $12,196 to the amount of money insurers had to pay.

“Many hospitals are struggling to survive financially," stated Encinosa, who is also a senior economist at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. "The point of our paper is that the cost savings from reducing medical errors are much larger than previously thought," he added.

"Eliminating medical errors and their after effects must continue to be top priority for our health care system," said AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy in a declaration.

Patients of jailed doctor Robert Stokes join push for dirty-needle penalties

GRAND RAPIDS -- When they found out a Grand Rapids doctor might have exposed them to hepatitis and HIV, many of his patients were scared.

When they learned Dr. Robert Stokes' habit of reusing sutures, hypodermic needles and other instruments without proper sterilization did not violate any criminal law, their fear turned to anger.

"Something's got to be done," said Bob May, the mayor of Hastings who was treated by Stokes for skin cancer. "It should be legally improper to do what he did, as well as morally. We cannot allow these doctors to do this to the public."

Stokes, a dermatologist, was sentenced last December to 10 1/2 years in federal prison for insurance fraud, not for potentially exposing thousands of patients to life-threatening infections. Investigators could find no federal law against his practice of reusing surgical materials and instruments intended for one-time use. State law provides only civil, not criminal, penalties.

The state board that licenses osteopathic physicians revoked Stokes' license in March, the strongest penalty available under current law, said Ray Garza, director of the health regulatory division of the state Department of Community Health. Stokes can apply for reinstatement in five years, Garza said, although, barring a successful appeal, he likely will still be in prison.


Eighteen of Stokes' former patients sued him for medical malpractice last year, and some of those cases have been settled through mediation. But several of his former patients say civil penalties aren't enough. They've joined together in urging for a tougher state law making it a crime for a medical provider to expose patients to disease, and they have formed a loose alliance with another group pushing for a similar federal law.

State Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, is having a bill drafted that would set tougher penalties. State Sen. Bill Hardiman, R-Kentwood, recently introduced a bill prohibiting health care providers from reusing medical devices intended for a single use, even if they have been reprocessed, unless the patient provides written consent.

Canadian missionaries will return to Kenya, following attack

By Lloyd Mackey

WILL THEY stay in Kenya, or will they come home to the Okanagan?

That was a burning question for John and Eloise Bergen, after they were attacked by machete-wielding men apparently recruited by one of their former security guards.

The short answer is that they will shortly come home for healing, but return sooner rather than later, to their work in Kenya.

The attack took place Wednesday evening, July 9, at the Bergen's colonial-era home and organic farm, near the agricultural town of Kitale. Both John, 70, and Eloise, 66, were left with deep cuts and multiple broken bones, and Eloise was repeatedly raped for close to an hour by her attackers.

The Bergens, who come from Vernon, had been in Kitale for four months. They went there originally to work in refugee camps during the post-election unrest. When that conflict ended with the establishing of a national unity government, and the camps were disbanded, they began organic gardening to supply food to the numerous orphans and widows in the area.

The programs involving the Bergens are sponsored by a coalition involving Kelowna-based Hope for the Nations ministry and partner group Love Mercy.

Eloise spoke to CC.com by phone from her bed in the Nairobi Hospital on July 12, while her husband was recovering from surgery which included the placing of a titanium plate in his broken jaw.

She said she was attacked while taking a bath in their home.

"I saw four or five black men with machetes and clubs," she recalled.

"But I sensed a surrounding pillow of God's presence. It was terrible but there was no overwhelming fear."

She said the attackers clubbed her, tied her hands with her husband's shaver and cell phone adapter cords.

"They left me with blankets over me and mattresses. I asked God to help me to get free, then remembered where I had scissors."

Eloise backed herself to where they scissors were, manoeuvring to where she could to cut the cords.

"Then I went outside to find out what happened to my husband."

Other attackers had beaten him up and left him for dead in the bushes at the side of their driveway. He had broken bones in several parts of his body. Both of them were bleeding profusely from the machete cuts.

With what she believes was help from God himself, Eloise was able to start the unfamiliar farm vehicle, get herself dressed and a pillow and blankets for John.

Then she hauled the "dead weight" of her almost unconscious husband into the truck and headed off to the HFN Kitale compound 10 kilometres down the road. A few gates blocking the road at various points quickly gave way to the careening vehicle.

DSM falls as Iran fears grip Gulf bourses

By Santhosh V Perumal

Doha: Qatar’s bourse fell 0.87% yesterday as foreign institutional investors yesterday dumped stocks with Iran testing more missiles.
Led by services stocks, the 20-stock benchmark Qatar Share Index entered the sixth day of a bear run as it knocked off 103 points to close at 11,751.10 points.
The Doha Securities Market, however, has made 22.66% gains year-on-year.
Nakilat, Qatar Telecom, Qatar Electricity and Water and Qatar Navigation stocks fell 4.04%, 3.47%, 2.61% and 1.60% respectively.
Total market capitalisation shrank 0.10% or QR51mn to QR499.95bn.
Mid cap stocks deflated 1.85%, followed by micro cap (1.60%), large cap (1.07%) and small cap (0.76%).
Services stocks lost the maximum of 2.49%, followed by banks and financial institution (0.27%) and industries (0.10%), while that of insurance gained 1.12%.
Of the 43 stocks, only seven extended gains, while 28 fell and four were unchanged. Four others were not traded.
“Foreign investors have increasingly become wary of the current situation in the Middle East, especially after Iran’s missile firing,” an analyst told Gulf Times.
Other losers included Salam International Investment (2.84%), Qatari German Company for Medical Devices and International Islamic (1.82% each), Qatar Insurance (1.56%), and Gulf Holding and Qatar Technical Inspection (1.50% each).
Ezdan Real Estate stocks gained 8.86%, followed by Islamic Securities (6%), Al Khaleej Insurance and Reinsurance (1.33%), United Development Company (1.31%) and Islamic Insurance (1.12%).
Foreign institutions were profit takers as a lower 16.26% of them were into buying yesterday compared with 19.03% in the previous day, while a higher 35.49% into selling against 29.82%.
Domestic institutions, on the other hand, net buyers as higher 20.24% of them bought stocks compared with 14.43% on Wednesday although a higher 10.63% offloaded against 8%.
Qatari retail investors reduced their exposure as a lower 51.98% of them were into buying compared with 54.77% in the previous day and a lower 42.37% into selling against 50.49%.
Non-Qatari retail investors also reduced their exposure as a lower 11.52% of them picked stocks compared with 11.77% on Wednesday and a lower 11.52% sold against 11.68%.
Opening at 11,853.61 points, the market initially fell on selling in the banks and industrial segments, after which it was on a gaining course for the next 15 minutes due to banking, insurance and industrial sectors.
Thereafter, the QSI was gripped by profit taking, notably in the services stocks and closed 103 points lower.
Total volumes expanded 57% to 11.66mn shares, value by 50% to QR0.63bn and transactions more than doubled to 8,148.
Insurance trading volume zoomed 75% to 0.21mn shares, value by 79% QR20.53mn and deals by 103% to 298.
Services trading volume rose 69% to 6.79mn shares, value by 58% to QR316.88mn and transactions by 30% to 4,092.
Industrial trading volume increased by 61% to 0.98mn shares, value by 59% to QR69.94mn and deals by 11% to 1,176.
Banks and financial institutions trading volume was up 38% to 3.69mn shares, value by 39% to QR222.49mn and transactions by 37% to 2,582.
The top five traded entities were Nakilat (3.45mn shares); Masraf Al Rayan (1.93mn); Gulf International Services (904,636); Barwa (719,790) and Doha Bank (702,762).
Zawya Dow Jones adds from Dubai: Gulf markets closed mixed yesterday as concerns about Iran’s stand-off with the West over its nuclear plans continued to impact investor sentiment in the region.
The Saudi market was closed for the weekend.
Dubai shares slid 1.1% to 5347.84 at close, led by DFM Co, down 2.4% to 4.95 dirhams. The market was up 0.8% on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi market closed 0.2% lower at 4996.50, undermined by real estate shares. Aldar Properties fell 2% to 12.10 dirhams.
First Gulf Bank bucked the negative trend, up 3.3% to 27.65 dirhams. Aabar Energy rose 2.6% to 4.71 dirhams.
Kuwait’s market rose 0.8% to 14895.40, led by bellwether National Bank of Kuwait, up 2.2% to 1.840 dinars.
NBK on Wednesday posted a second-quarter net profit of 93mn dinars, a 16% increase from the 80.3mn dinars it posted in the same quarter last year.
Bahrain shares were up 0.2% to 2848.97 at close, led by banks.
Muscat market closed 0.1% higher at 11718.18, helped by bellwether Bank Muscat, up 1.9% to 1.851 rials.

Schmucker: “I’m doing what I feel is right”

Kaufman third baseman splits time between diamond and mission trips
By Jonathan Scholles

The Budget
Sports Editor

Kaufman Realty third baseman Ryan Schmucker loves baseball - so much so that he apologizes over and over again if he has to miss a game.
But at the same time, he recognizes he has a greater calling.
And he’s taking full advantage of it.
In the past year, Schmucker, a first-year medical student at Wright State University, has taken two missions trips - Haiti last summer and Russia this spring - and recently returned from Chicago where he worked with a team a doctors to help provide medical treatment to inner city children.
“Ryan helped me to remember that what really matters is the kind of people we are, and not whether they hit .500 or have a 1.000% fielding percentage,” Kaufman Realty manager Chuck Jarvis said. “Ryan just personifies that.”
The 22-year-old son of Wes and Kris has played for the Orangemen for three seasons. He’s batting .333 with two RBIs in three games this summer.
JS: You obviously love baseball - you wouldn’t keep coming back if you didn’t. How hard has it been lately splitting duties between baseball and your missions work?
RS: Last summer, I was only there two games before I went to Haiti. And this summer, I’ve been doing quite a bit of traveling, working with different doctors and things. When I make a commitment, I like to follow through - especially with Kaufman. So I feel bad when I miss, but I feel that’s important for me to get this work in, and I think the work I’m doing is important, as far as helping with the poor and poverty stricken kids.

There is kind of a dichotomy there. I want to be at the games, but at the same time, I’m doing what I feel is right.

JS: How did you get involved in the mission trips?
RS: I was looking to do an internship before I started medical school, and I really wanted to work overseas. I heard a lot of people talk, and I heard about the problems they have over in Haiti - the poverty down there is just unbelievable. So I thought if I can go down for a month and a half, it would be great experience, but more so, I would be able to help out in a small way.
And being in the position that I’m in - coming from a middle class family - I have the resources to go help people who are less fortunate. I felt called upon as a Christian to do so. I wasn’t a difficult decision, and I would like to do more traveling. With the world in the state it’s in, there’s a lot of need.
JS: What did you see as the biggest need in Haiti?
RS: The economic conditions down there prevent people from having clean water, having a house that is protected from the elements and protected from diseases. There were multiple things that ultimately contributed to the health of the people, which is what I was focusing on. We were just putting a band aid on a big wound that wasn’t going to heal itself without more activism.
JS: That’s incredible. What would you say you gained the most from the experience?
RS: Perspective. Getting to see how people live across the world was eye-opening. And then when I returned to the United States there was quite a bit of culture shock, because we have so much and we don’t even realize it - we just take it for granted so often. Even small things like saving up my money by not purchasing the things I don’t need so I can send it overseas. It’s the redistribution of our world’s economy - one person at a time.
JS: And then you went to Russia. What happened there?
RS: When I was Russia, we worked with orphans. And the orphanage system in Russia is decimated - there is no accountability for the children, and there is one or two directors for every 50 children. So when we went over there, we got to work in a classroom, and I was assigned to a classroom with five kids - ages three and four.
We got to spend four days with them - it was a short trip over spring break. And by the end of the trip, they way they reacted to us was so much different that when we got there, because they weren’t used to adults showing them any affection at all. They went from having a glazed over look to running up and sitting on our laps and not wanting us to leave. It was that physical, emotional affection that we were giving them that completely changed them in a matter of days.
We felt like, in a small way, we made those children feel wanted for the week that we were there.
JS: You recently completed your first domestic missions trip, a clinic (Lawndale Christian Health Center) in Chicago. Why Chicago? What work is done there?
RS: I was working with a pediatrician there. Lawndale is a health clinic for those who can’t afford any other health care - they don’t have insurance or Medicare, Medicaid or things like that. They charge $15 dollars a visit, which considering doctors rates these days isn’t much. It allows them to give comprehensive care to the children of the community, as well as the adults. Right now, they have about 40 doctors working there of all specialties. Basically they provide health care for the whole inner city - and it’s the premier inner city mission, medically speaking, in the nation.
JS: What’s was it like going from Haiti and Russia - both poor countries - to inner city Chicago, which has its own blight?
RS: In Haiti, the poverty was a lot worse than in the United States. But poverty, to the person who is poor, is not relative. ... You’re right, there is a difference in the level of poverty, strictly economically speaking. But, boy, inner city Chicago is like a different country almost - the violence, the poverty.
JS: As far as you medical career is concerned, how will these mission trips aid you?
RS: I want to be able to bring health care to places that don’t have anything. There is an abundance of places like that. And health care is the best way to help the tangible needs of the people. I love what I do. I love medical school. And I love the field of medicine in general. With that I feel I can help people overseas in my unique way.
JS: Would you consider yourself as being more of a humanitarian/doctor, as opposed to one whose confined to a hospital?
RS: Absolutely. There is a lot of monetary gain to be had in medicine today, but absolutely I would like to work in humanitarian aid all over the world. But at the same time, I would treat people back in the United States as well. The driving factor, for me, is not living the suburban life.
To learn more on mission trips to Haiti, check out Lifeline Christian Missions, of Columbus, at lifeline.org. Or look up The Boaz Project Inc., of Indianapolis, at boazproject.org for more info on the Russian orphan situation. And to get involved with the Lawndale Christian Health Center, of Chicago, visit lawndale.org.