Improving patient safety shouldn’t be a financial calculation (Stat, 17 February 2023)

Summary

In this opinion piece for US website Stat, Michael Millenson explores how financial factors have contributed to the lack of progress in reducing avoidable harm in the US over the past decade. He argues that the private, insurance-based system means that hospitals make more money from patients with complications, therefore patient safety improvements reduce healthcare organisations' profits. He highlights that research demonstrating this link is only now uncovering what hospital executives have known for years—that current payment structures may “reduce the willingness of hospitals to invest in patient safety.”