Hospital fined for wrong-site surgery

November 4, 2009

The Health Department has fined Rhode Island Hospital $150,000, after determining that a surgical team violated safety policies when it operated on the wrong finger of a patient on Oct. 22.

The surgical team failed to properly mark the fingers and failed to follow the rules for “time out,” a pause before surgery to verify the patient, procedure and site, the department’s investigation found. Indeed, the report said, Rhode Island Hospital was not even following the much-ballyhooed error-prevention protocol that was adopted statewide on July 1.

“This pattern of surgical errors is completely unacceptable and must be corrected to protect the safety of all patients at the hospital,” said Health Director David R. Gifford.

Read Article: The Providence Journal

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