8-1 Discussion: The Main Costs of Errors in Healthcare

Safer Health
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Safer Health
Errors in healthcare lead to some costs. It leads to additional costs for additional care as a result of the errors. Errors also prolong the time an individual is undergoing treatment at the expense of working hence the loss in productivity and household income(Kohn, Corrigan, & Donaldson, 1999). The worst cost is if the error leads to permanent disability and the whole productivity of the patient is lost as well as costs for taking care of disabled person shall be incurred. Another cost is a loss of trust by the public with the health care system due to low satisfaction(Compton, 2015). Patients whose stay in the hospital is prolonged by errors incur physical and psychological discomfort at the hospital(Kohn, Corrigan, & Donaldson, 1999). Likewise, the medical staff bears the costs of errors with a loss in morale for inability to offer quality care. Lastly, the community suffers the costs of loss in labor force.
Nevertheless, there are ways of improving healthcare provision to minimize the errors. First, the healthcare should be unified under one national center that focuses on the patient safety. The center shall encourage research and promote leadership with the aim of improving the patient care and safety(Carayon, 2016). Second, a national reporting system should be established so that all the errors are reported, and the response is made towards them(Carayon, 2016). From reporting, the care providers can get a chance to learn from errors of others and will be in a better position to evade such errors. Lastly, is raising standards and expectations for patient safety and care through the use of oversight organizations and groups(Carayon, 2016).
There have been impro...