Nearly One in Five Iowa Patients Experience Medical Errors

A new poll, organized by the Heartland Health Research Institute of Clive, Iowa, confirms that nearly one in five Iowans claim to have personally experienced medical errors including surgical mistakes, misdiagnosis, or incorrect medications. Hospitals were voted as the most frequent site for medical errors (about 59 percent), while 30 percent of errors occurred in the doctor’s office or clinic, four percent in nursing homes, and seven percent at other locations. Of the one in five Iowa adults who experienced medical errors, 60 percent of patients were not informed by medical staff members. Other survey findings: Sixty percent of those who experienced...

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