Medical Errors Earn Hospitals Money?

We have all witnessed or heard about things that defy all logic. Well what you’re
about to read is going to fit into that category.

A study published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, in
April 2013 revealed something that might surprise you. Hospitals make more
money when medical errors are committed.

I mean I understand how it happens. Someone has a procedure, an error occurs and
they have to remain in the hospital for more treatment resulting in a higher hospital
bill. But does that seem right?  The issue raised by doctor and writer Michael Kirsch is if hospitals or physicians should be able to charge more for extra care that was preventable.

Kirsch points out that there’s a movement away from fee-for-service medicine which can lead to excessive care. Value based care where quality is measured and reimbursed is the new concept and part of the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.

Medical mistakes are difficult to define and there’s no disputing they cost money. But Kirsch says he’s not convinced doctors should not be paid for services rendered. Why should a consulting doctor, called in when a mistake occurs, not be paid for his professional opinion?

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