Study: Patient safety incidents costly

Patient safety incidents cost the federal Medicare program $8.8 billion and resulted in 238,337 potentially preventable deaths during 2004 through 2006, according to HealthGrades' (Golden, Colorado) fifth annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study. HealthGrades' analysis of 41 million Medicare patient records found that patients treated at top-performing hospitals had, on average, a 43% lower chance of experiencing one or more medical errors, compared to the poorest-performing hospitals.

The overall incident rate was about 3% of all Medicare admissions evaluated, accounting for 1.1 million patient safety incidents during the three years studied. With the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services scheduled to stop reimbursing hospitals for the treatment of eight major preventable errors — including objects left in the body after surgery and certain post-surgical infections, starting Oct. 1 — the financial implications are substantial.

The full study is available at www.healthgrades.com.

HealthGrades says it provides ratings and decision support resources to make healthcare decisions based on the quality and cost of care.

Merge receives Nasdaq notice

Merge Healthcare (Milwaukee) was notified by Nasdaq that it is not in compliance with Marketplace Rule 4450(a)(5) because shares of its common stock had closed at a per share bid price of less than $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days. In accordance with Marketplace Rule 4450(e)(2), the company will be provided with 180 calendar days, or until Sept. 29 to regain compliance. This notification has no effect on the listing of the company's common stock at this time.