The recent poll from the Heartland Health Research Institute corroborates several other studies conducted over the past 20 years concluding medical errors constitute a leading cause of death in the United States and in Iowa.
Patient advocate groups have unsuccessfully pushed Iowa policymakers and healthcare industry advocates to require transparency. Unfortunately, current Iowa law allows healthcare providers the freedom to dictate the nature and extent of the information they choose to share about errors.
Recently, the state of Iowa relied upon a somewhat archaic set of statutes to prevent release of its investigation of an incident involving a patient who was sedated to undergo a CT scan at the University of Iowa Hospitals and awoke with a dislocated shoulder.
The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with the state that in the interest of promoting the effective review of medical care, it was not required to release such information.
Regrettably, for Iowans, this interpretation of state law will likely be used by hospitals and doctors to thwart patient inquiries into the cause or causes of medical and surgical errors resulting in serious injury or death.
While perhaps being informed that an error occurred, the patient would have access only to that information the healthcare provider chooses to release. A surviving loved one might get a letter from the hospital informing them their spouse had been given the “wrong” medication, only to have the hospital rebuff any attempt to learn the circumstances of the error.
David Lind's poll found 60 percent of those with medical error experience were not informed of the error by the healthcare provider. The Iowa Legislature should require not only that errors be reported when discovered, but also that those harmed be offered a transparent investigative process.
Full, open and honest disclosure of a medical error and a transparent investigative process breeds trust. Secrecy evokes only suspicion and contempt.
Thomas P. Slater is a West Des Moines attorney who represents persons injured from medical malpractice.