In November of 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report detailing what they refer to as “Adverse Events” in hospitals throughout the US. The report, entitled Adverse Events in Hospitals: National Incidence among Medicare Beneficiaries, reviewed the care received by a nationally representative random sample of 780 Medicare patients during one month. They wanted to see how often adverse events happen in hospitals and the cost to Medicare as a result of these events. Keep in mind that the definition of an adverse event (for the purpose of this study) is an event that would not have occurred if the patient had not been admitted to the hospital.
The findings of this study are shocking, to say the least. It turns out that and estimated 13.1% of Medicare patients admitted to hospitals nationally experience an adverse event, resulting in the four most serious categories of patient harm, due to hospital treatment. That equates to 134,000 patients every month! But that’s not the worst of it. From the report:
“An estimated 1.5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced an event that contributed to their deaths, which projects to 15,000 patients in a single month.”
Of the patients that experienced adverse events, doctors determined that no less than 44% of these events were preventable. And the report says that preventable events were linked most commonly to medical errors, substandard care, and lack of patient monitoring and assessment.
Less important than the health of the patients studied, but still shocking, was the cost to HHS due to these preventable adverse events. They estimate that such occurrences cost the agency $324 million a month! This number is staggering and accounts for almost 4% of Medicare’s entire budget. Based on Medicare’s annual budget that means that tax payers are paying $4.4 BILLION dollars and 180,000 patients are dying every year, primarily due to medical errors, substandard care, and lack of patient monitoring and assessment in our nation’s hospitals.
What should be done about this? Well, HHS advises, among other things, that hospitals should be paid an incentive for reducing adverse events. That’s right. Hospitals should be paid extra for not harming or killing people. There has to be a better solution than that.
One solution everyone can participate in at a personal level is seeking chiropractic care early and often. Yes, there are conditions and injuries for which people need to go to the hospital; but many of these could be prevented if the patients had been under the regular care of chiropractor. Why is chiropractic the answer? Chiropractors treat the whole person, not just symptoms, and we do it without the use of harmful drugs. Additionally, we are focused on prevention of disease and injury, rather than waiting for something bad to happen to address it. The medical establishment has always been focused on treating disease rather than preventing it, and now we see that they are actually (in many cases) causing it.
So, please, make an appointment to see your chiropractor, even if you don’t have any back pain. Chiropractors aren’t just about cracking your back. We help to treat you with the care you need to stay healthy long term. If you’re in Southern California, get in touch with our San Clemente Chiropractor’s Office. You’ll be glad you did.
When we hear someone complaining about back pain, it is often lower back pain. Indeed, upper back pain is not really all that common. When it happens though, it can result in a lot of discomfort, and severe pain. While they do work together, as does your entire body, the lower and upper back serve different purposes. The upper back’s job is to provide stability and strength to stand up straight, whereas the lower back, as well as the neck, are meant to allow for mobility. The upper back, or thoracic spine, also helps to protect your internal organs and your chest.
