The study, entitled "Silence Kills: The Seven Crucial Conversations for Healthcare," notes that each year, one in 20 patients in hospitals will be given the wrong medication, 3.5 million people will get an infection unnecessarily, and 195,000 will die because of mistakes that were preventable while they were in hospitals.

The findings are particularly timely given the national observance of Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 6 through 12. The researchers listed the following items of greatest concern:

• Broken rules - Eighty-four percent of physicians and 62 percent of nurses see co-workers taking shortcuts that could be dangerous to patients.
• Mistakes - Ninety-two percent of physicians and 65 percent of nurses and other clinical care providers work with people who have trouble following directions.
• Lack of Support - Fifty-three percent of nurses report that 10 percent or more of their colleagues are reluctant to help, impatient or refuse to answer their questions; 83 percent have a teammate who complains when asked to pitch in and help.
• Incompetence - Eighty-one percent of physicians and 53 percent of nurses have concerns about the competency of some nurses and other clinical care providers they work with; 68 percent of physicians have concerns about the competency of at least one physician they work with.
• Disrespect - Seventy-seven percent of nurses and other clinical care providers work with some who are condescending, insulting or rude.

The number of physicians who were concerned about another physician's level of competence is 61 percent. Doctors see another doctor do something dangerous at least once a month, 21 percent of the time.

Needless to say, the people who work in hospitals are in a position to observe what really goes on.

This information is consistent with recent revelations by Pennsylvania's Patient Safety Authority. The first patient safety authority in the country, created in March of 2002 in response to an Institute of Medicine recommendation, has reported 84,000 serious events and incidents between June and December of 2004. These fall into a variety of areas, some more serious than others, but in all cases either compromise patient safety or have the potential to compromise patient safety.

It is interesting that even given the increasing danger that patients face in hospitals, the trend in payments for malpractice claims against doctors and medical care professionals has turned sharply downward, according to a Feb. 22 article in The New York Times.

It is time once and for all to stop blaming those who are hurt by preventable medical errors and instead to reform the insurance industry, reduce patient errors and develop a state and national policy that will create a culture of safety and compensation for those who deserve it.

Rieders practices law in Williamsport.