New research shows medical errors are widespread problem

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal ‘s health blog reported on a new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzing paid medical malpractice claims.

The key finding in the study showed that 52.5% of all paid claims had some outpatient component, which has not been previously researched like errors that occur inside of hospitals. Reuters also reported on the research, and spoke with Dr. Tara Bishop who helped author the study.

"We were actually very surprised by that finding," Bishop, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said. "I hope it's a wake-up call for the medical community and for patients, so we can start working on ways to solve these problems."

This study makes clear that patient safety needs to be the priority of all health care providers, not just those working in hospitals. Patient safety programs need to extend outside the walls of the hospital to help reduce medical errors.