Cost implications of malpractice and adverse events.
The ninth most common allegation against hospitals in 1989 was infection/contamination exposure, with the average claim costing nearly $34,000. Most malpractice claims are associated with inpatient surgery, according to 1990 statistics, and the average cost of a claim for infection and contamination related to surgery was over $64,000 in 1990. Physicians currently pay as much as $50,000 annually for malpractice insurance, and hospitals in some major metropolitan areas pay $8,000 per bed for insurance. An estimated 5% of hospitalized patients acquire nosocomial infections at an annual cost of approximately $10 billion. Prolonged hospitalization, usually for parenteral antibiotic treatment, accounts for more than three-fourths of this cost. To reduce the costs of malpractice, nosocomial infections can be prevented through infection-control programs, or damages can be reduced by treating infections with more efficacious and safer drugs that decrease the pain and suffering associated with the infection.
Rutgers University Law School.
J
J
Korin
D003363:Cost Control / Q000379:methods; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology