MPs call for more effort to stamp out medical errors

Pete Hodgson

MPs have urged Health Minister Pete Hodgson to put more emphasis on eliminating medical errors and other "adverse events" from public hospitals.

Parliament's health committee pointed to previous research which suggested problems such as hospital-acquired infection, drug error and staff mistakes could cost $870 million a year.

The total health budget is $10.6 billion.

The committee expressed concern that reporting of such events remained voluntary and there was no specific funding tagged to reducing their incidence.

It urged Mr Hodgson and the Health Ministry to ensure district health boards gave priority to reducing adverse events.

But Mr Hodgson said although there was no tagged funding he believed health boards were sufficiently funded to address the issue and were doing so.

The umbrella group District Health Boards New Zealand had compiled a national strategy that aimed to reduce drug prescribing errors.

One part of that was a plan to implement electronic dispensing systems to cut down human error.

The Health Ministry was also moving to establish a national electronic medication record database.

Mr Hodgson said developing benchmark targets and a set of incentives for DHBs to reduce adverse events was complex and there was a lack of evidence about which approaches worked well.

Nevertheless the ministry was developing a "priority plan" to help DHBs reduce such events.

A study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in 2001 suggested that as many as one in 10 hospital patients suffered some form of drug error.

Up to 10 per cent of hospital patients also acquire some form of infection, often after surgery.

It is estimated that up to two out of three adverse events is potentially preventable.

Health committee chairwoman, Green MP Sue Kedgley, has previously called for mandatory reporting of all adverse events, which she says would accurately gauge the problem and reduce its incidence.

The Health and Disability Commissioner has backed her call.

Mr Hodgson has said he intends discussing the issue with the commissioner.

The committee was giving its report on this year's health budget estimates.

- NZPA