Report: Minnesota hospitals made errors leading to 21 deaths, 178 injuries
ST. PAUL, Minn. — There were 21 preventable deaths and 178 injuries at Minnesota hospitals last year due to medical errors, according to a new state health department report released Wednesday.
Officials cited persistent pandemic problems impacting health care, like prolonged hospital stays and workforce shortages, as contributing factors to the uptick in "adverse health events," or avoidable mistakes that can lead to patients getting hurt or killed.
The incidents, which span from medication errors and surgery on the wrong patient, rose for the second year in a row after years of stable numbers.
In the 12-month period ending last October, there were 21 avoidable deaths, which is the most since 2006, the report said.
Pressure ulcers, or bed sores, and falls accounted for 64% of the total incidents.
There were 572 errors in 2022.
"I think a lot of it continues to be fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic," said Rachel Jokela, director of the adverse health events and patient safety program at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Hospitals and other surgery centers are required to report the causes and implement a corrective action plan to prevent future errors.
It comes at a time when health care is facing a workface shortage that officials say is dire. The Minnesota Hospital Association's workforce report last year pinpointed nearly 9,000 open positions in hospitals in health systems with an overall vacancy rate of 19%.
"There's been workforce shortages in hospitals that have resulted in those hospitals having to prioritize the most critical patients," Jokela said. "Sometimes then there are fewer hands to assist with repositioning patients who may be able to do it themselves and that can lead to pressure ulcers."
Dr. Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the association, said in a statement that the adverse health event data highlights "the ongoing complexities and challenges in our health care system," which were exacerbated by the pandemic and workforce woes.
"Despite these extraordinary circumstances, Minnesota's hospitals and health systems remain steadfast in their commitment to transparent reporting and are always focused on providing the safest, highest-quality care possible," he said.
Jokela said while the numbers may be distressing, context is important: The medical mistakes make up just a fraction of total hospital stays and procedures in a year.
"While we don't want them to happen at all, they are extremely rare and so the care in Minnesota is very safe," she explained.
In response to the report, the Minnesota Nurses Association renewed their call for the legislature to pass the "Keep Nurses at the Bedside Act," which would establish committees in hospitals to staffing minimums.
The scope of the bill narrowed drastically by the end of session, after the Mayo Clinic threatened to pull investments from the state.
"As long as the corporatization of healthcare is allowed to run rampant in Minnesota, we will continue to see an increase in adverse events for Minnesota patients and nurses leaving the bedside in droves," Mary Turner, president of the nurses' union, said in a statement. "It's time for our elected leaders to act, for the sake of all Minnesotans."