By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Feinberg’s Simulation-Based Training Program Wins Innovations Challenge
    November 16, 2012
    ACA Delays
    Top 8 ACA Delays: Blatantly Illegal or Temporary Courses of Action?
    July 7, 2014
    Vegetarina Dental Concerns Marielaina Perrone DDS
    Oral Health Concerns For Vegetarians
    February 14, 2013
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Medical Errors Earn Hospitals Money: Who Knew?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Medical Errors Earn Hospitals Money: Who Knew?
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationPolicy & Law

Medical Errors Earn Hospitals Money: Who Knew?

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
5 Min Read
medical errors
SHARE

Though I have been accused by various commenters as protecting my own specialty when I point out excesses, flaws and conflicts of interest in the medical profession, this accusation would be handily dismantled after a fair reading of prior posts.  Indeed, my own specialty of gastroenterology and my own medical practice has felt the effects of the honed Whistleblower scalpel.

Though I have been accused by various commenters as protecting my own specialty when I point out excesses, flaws and conflicts of interest in the medical profession, this accusation would be handily dismantled after a fair reading of prior posts.  Indeed, my own specialty of gastroenterology and my own medical practice has felt the effects of the honed Whistleblower scalpel. If an individual or an institution will not willingly engage in self-criticism, then it creates a credibility gap that may be impossible to bridge.  If you want a seat at the table, then arrive exposed and humble.

 
medical errors
My Preferred Instruments
 
A study was published in the prestigious medical journal JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, in April 2013 publishing what we have known for decades: hospitals make more money when medical errors are committed.   As an aside, I have much more respect for JAMA than I do for the AMA, but I’ll resist the strong temptation to digress.
 
Here’s how it has worked in the past.  If a patient is hospitalized with an inflamed gallbladder and is discharged a day later after surgery, the hospital would be reimbursed according to a specific fee schedule.   (Payment systems for hospitalized patients are more complex than this, but accept the above example for the moment.)  If this same patient undergoes complications after surgical removal of the gallbladder, the hospital would be paid more.   If an infection at the incision site, or the patient develops a reaction to medication that may lead to more testing, then the hospital bill will understandably increase.  The issue is if hospitals or physicians should be able to charge more for extra care that was preventable.
  
There is an inexorable movement away from fee-for-service medicine which antagonists argue lead directly to excessive care.  Value based care is the new concept where quality, not quantity, will be measured and reimbursed.  There is a growing Never Events list where certain medical complications that are designated as events that should never happen, will never be reimbursed.  While this concept sounds attractive in a sound bite, my view on Never Events is more nuanced.
 
The argument to withhold payment for care that resulted from medical error is potent.  Keep in mind that defining a medical error is not as easy as it sounds.  One can easily imagine how easy it would be too confuse a medical complication, which is a blameless event, from an error or a negligent act.  If I perform a colonoscopy and a perforation develops as a complication, should the hospital and surgeon I consult not be paid for the additional care that would be required?
 
Would every profession consent to returning fees for mistaken advice or service?  Do you agree with the following?
  • Financial advisors should return fees if investment performance is below a designated threshold or differs from their peers.
  • Attorneys who have been found on appeal to have offered ineffective legal arguments at trial, should surrender their fees.
  • A professional baseball player who drops a fly ball should lose a day’s pay.
  • A newspaper publisher should offer a rebate to all readers if a news story is found to be inaccurate owing to a lack of proper editorial oversight. 
I realize that medical mistakes cost money, as do some of the hypothetical examples above.  I also accept that financial incentives can change behavior and can be an effective tool.  But every human endeavor has a finite error rate and we should be cautious before using a financial drone attack against only the medical profession.  Let’s use a scalpel here and not a sledge hammer.  And those of you outside of medicine, explain why your occupation should be spared from this reform strategy?
 
If to err is human, and doctors are human, then should we punished for our humanity?
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

risk management
BusinesseHealthMedical RecordsPolicy & LawTechnology

Accountability for Risk Management and Cybersecurity in Healthcare Institutions

January 28, 2015
holistic medicine
Health care

What distinguishes functional medicine from holistic medicine?

May 7, 2021

Colbert Takes on “Debt Panels” AKA Accretive Health

May 5, 2012

3 Tips from a Meaningful User on Attesting for Meaningful Use

October 19, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?