Sen. Boxer praises UCLA Health System for preventing medical errors

Every year, 325,000 patients die in the United States due to medical errors, a number that would fill the Rose Bowl nearly four times, according to a special report released today at a UCLA news conference by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. Boxer presented the findings of her report at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and noted steps UCLA already takes to prevent medical errors and that could serve as models for other hospitals around the country. "These deaths are all the more heartbreaking because they’re preventable," Boxer said after she toured the medical center with Dr. David Feinberg, president of UCLA Health System and CEO of UCLA Hospital System, so she could see for herself two systems being used to prevent medical errors. "This is not the time to sit back and do nothing. I will not turn away from this challenge when I have the opportunity to pull back 325,000 people from disaster every year simply by preventing medical errors." The third leading cause of death in the country, medical errors can be avoided by something as simple as washing your hands. These errors commonly result in hospital-acquired infections, bedsores, patient falls, adverse drug reactions, sepsis, blood clots, catheter-related urinary tract infections, ventilator-related pneumonias and surgical site infections. In addition to saving lives, preventing medical errors could save up to $19.5 billion annually, Boxer said. While touring the seventh floor, Boxer was first was shown the barcode technology...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news