- Approximately seventy treatment inaccuracies identified
Last year, around 70 instances of medical blunders by physicians leading to patient health deterioration were recognized by the Medical Service in Thuringia. As per the Medical Service of Thuringia (MD), out of the 282 cases scrutinized, 25.5% were verified as medical errors.
The extent of harm to patients and common error areas remained undisclosed. However, the number of suspected cases and the percentage of confirmed medical errors remained consistent before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an MD spokesperson.
Approximately 70% of the examined cases showed no errors, while errors were found in about 2% of cases without causing harm. In around 3% of the reviewed cases, it was unclear if a faulty treatment resulted in patient health damage.
On a national level, one out of five cases resulted in harm.
Patients suspecting treatment mistakes can liaise with their statutory health insurance companies, which can commission the Medical Service for investigation. Only then do these cases get entered into statistics. Nationwide, around 12,500 such suspected cases were recorded last year, resulting in patient harm due to medical errors in 21.5% of these instances.
Though proven medical errors constitute a minor fraction of all treatments, they can have severe implications for affected individuals. Last year, 75 patients lost their lives due to medical staff errors.
Health insurers can claim refunds for treatments in cases of proven medical errors, provided a "causality" between the treatment error and the resulting harm is established. Patients can utilize the MD's reports on treatment errors in damages claims, for instance.
Despite the efforts to reduce medical errors, 75 lives were tragically lost due to such mistakes last year. Regardless of the pandemic, the medical service continues to investigate and address these crucial medical issues.
