Hartford Courant calls for repeal of confidentiality provision on hospital medical errors

The Hartford Courant (3/8) editorialized that Connecticut’s “General Assembly erred in 2004 when it tampered with a law designed to make public such hospital mistakes as inadvertent cuts during surgery or serious falls.” As a result, “the confidentiality provision…now keeps most such mistakes secret,” but “patients have a right to know about hospital mistakes and what steps hospitals are taking to reduce medical errors.” Under draft legislation “to repeal the confidentiality provision,” hospitals would disclose “all reported adverse events…not just those that are investigated.” The Courant concludes that “voluntary compliance and diligent attention to trying to reduce medical errors will work in hospitals’ favor.”