A study shows that medical injuries sustained in hospital are risky for the patient and push up costs.
Even though medical injuries are relatively infrequent, it is not surprising that problems do sometimes happen, given the complexity of modern medical care. Till now, however, little has been known of the impact of medical injuries on the patient and upon healthcare costs.

Researchers for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and at Johns Hopkins University have surveyed the outcome of medical injuries in a sample equivalent to 20 per cent of US hospitals. They find that the excess hospital stay due to medical injury ranges from zero - for a problem in a new born baby - to nearly eleven days for post-operative sepsis. Charges ranged from zero, for some obstetric complications, to as much as nearly 58,000 dollars for post-operative sepsis.

Clearly, post-operative sepsis is the most serious medical injury. It's followed in significance by re-opening of an operative suture and infection due to medical care. Further research on the impact of medical injury is needed, so that effective strategies for their prevention can be developed.