JUN 2016
Medical Errors Are Third-leading Cause of Death in the U . S .
A study recently released by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that medical errors kill about 250,000 people a year — making it the thirdleading cause of death in the United States . Researchers came to that conclusion by looking at four studies conducted between 2000 and 2008 and extrapolating the rate of deaths due to medical error onto the total number of hospital admissions in 2013 — resulting in 251,454 deaths from medical error , or about 9.5 percent of all U . S . deaths each year .
The problem has been largely unexamined , the study claims , because death certificates don ’ t have a category for classifying a death as being the result of a medical error . As a result , when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) tabulates its mortality statistics , it has no mechanism for determining whether medical error was involved .
The researchers are asking the CDC to update the classification system used on death certificates , so that deaths from medical error can be better tracked . They also emphasized that most of the deaths were the result of systemic problems rather than malicious intent or individual negligence . Improving communication and implementing better safety protocols , the authors suggest , could help to bring the number of fatalities down .
OSHA Urged to Help Protect Health Care Workers from Workplace Violence
The Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) released a report that urges OSHA to do more to protect health care workers from workplace violence . The recommended actions include providing OSHA inspectors with additional information on developing citations , following up on hazard alert letters and assessing its results to determine if the development of a standard may be needed . OSHA has said it ’ s reviewed and agrees with the recommendations , and that it will be taking action to address them .
FTC Releases Tool for Mobile Health Apps
The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) has released an interactive tool to aid developers in the creation of mobile health apps . The tool was designed with the cooperation of several federal agencies and offers developers an overview of the laws and regulations that might apply to the apps they ’ re developing .
The app works by asking developers to answer a series of 10 questions , and then explains which laws could apply based upon the answers to those questions . The tool itself is intended as a starting point for developers , and provides links for further research and reading about the applicable legal requirements . If you need assistance in understanding compliance regarding health care data , contact Marshall & Sterling Insurance today .
Provided by Marshall & Sterling Insurance
© 2016 Zywave , Inc . All rights reserved .