Medical errors don’t play a role in most hospital deaths

Due to underlying disease, estimates of preventable deaths of hospitalized patients may be two to four times too high. The YSM and VA Connecticut study extrapolated likely numbers for the United States from results in European and Canadian hospitals. Benjamin Rodwin, MD, assistant professor of medicine, said that more studies are needed, but the notion that the quality of care in hospitals is better than previously assumed is indeed welcome news.