14000 preventable deaths in Australian hospitals

An official report on Australia's hospital system shows that tens of thousands of patients die of, or become permanently disabled as a result of, preventable causes after admission. Preliminary findings of a study commissioned by the federal health department estimate that between 10000 and 14000 people died of preventable causes in both public and private hospitals in 1992. In addition, between 25000 and 30000 people experienced a preventable adverse event that led to permanent disability of some kind.

The Australian hospital care study found that preventable disabilities occurred in 1% of hospital admissions and deaths in 0.5% of admissions.

The study is based on 14000 admission records in …