In late 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated in their landmark report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, that preventable medical errors in U.S. hospitals cost an estimated 98,000 patient lives and $7 to $19 billion every year. The IOM further concluded that medical errors could be significantly reduced through fundamental changes in our national healthcare system.
Analysis of sentinel events reported to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations