Americans Are Concerned About Hospital-Based Medical and
Surgical Errors
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — July 20, 2004 — Hospital-based medication, surgical
and diagnostic errors are of concern to most Americans, according to the results
of a new Harris Interactive® poll of 2,847 U.S. adults conducted
online between July 8 and 12, 2004 for The Wall Street Journal Online’s Health
Industry Edition.
Level of Concern about Hospital-Based Errors
Three in five Americans (63%) are "extremely concerned" (39%) or
"very concerned" (24%) about hospital-based medication errors, such as
receiving the wrong medication or the wrong dose, and 55% are concerned about
hospital-based surgical errors that might include incorrect amputations or
mistaken patient identities – 39% are "extremely concerned" and 16%
are "very concerned."
Public Perception of Hospitals’ Ability to Prevent Errors
The public is only moderately confident about the ability of U.S. hospitals
to prevent these types of errors.
- While one in three adults (33%) believe hospitals do an
"excellent" or "very good" job preventing medication
errors, nearly equal proportions (28%) believe hospitals do a
"fair" or "poor" job.
- Likewise, one in three adults (30%) believe that hospitals do an
"excellent" or "very good" job preventing diagnostic
errors, but an equally large proportion believes they do a "fair"
or "poor" job (29%)
- The public is somewhat more confident about hospitals’ abilities when it
comes to preventing surgical errors; 42% believe they do an
"excellent" or "very good" job.
Will New Hospital Procedures Help Prevent Errors?
New procedures instituted in July to prevent surgical errors include
double-checking patients’ identities and using standardized procedures for
marking patients’ bodies in preparation for surgery. Most Americans think
these new procedures will be effective – 15% "extremely effective,"
43% "very effective," and 36% "somewhat effective" in
preventing future errors.
"These findings suggest that efforts by the Institute of Medicine and
others to increase public awareness of patient safety issues are hitting home
with the American public. Public concern about medical, surgical and diagnostic
errors is high; and many have doubts about the ability of our medical
institutions to prevent these types of errors. On the bright side, most adults
are also confident that initiatives like the recently enacted hospital standards
to help prevent surgical errors will prove to be effective in advancing patient
safety," says Katherine Binns, senior vice president of health care at
Harris Interactive.
To access a PDF of this Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive
Health-Care Poll with complete data tables, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters_wsj.asp
where previous issues of the Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive
Health-Care Poll are archived.
Methodology
This study was conducted online within the United States between July 8 and
12, 2004 among a nationwide cross section of 2,847 adults. Figures for age, sex,
race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to
bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity
score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be
online.
In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95
percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of ±3.0 percentage
points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled
with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources
of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical
calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse),
question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify
the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample was not a
probability sample.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National
Council on Public Polls.
About the Survey
The Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll is an
exclusive poll that is published in the award-winning Health Industry Edition of
The Wall Street Journal Online at www.wsj.com/health.
About The Wall Street Journal Online
The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones &
Company (NYSE: DJ; www.dowjones.com), offers authoritative analysis, breaking
news and commentary from top industry journalists. Launched in 1996, the Online
Journal is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web, with more than
689,000 subscribers world-wide. The Online Journal provides in-depth business
news and financial information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with insight
and analysis, including breaking business and technology news and analysis from
around the world. It draws on the Dow Jones network of more than 1,500 reporters
and editors -- the largest staff of business and financial journalists in the
world. For the second consecutive year in 2003, the Online Journal received a
WebAward for the "Best Newspaper Web Site" and was also cited by
Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as the "Best Business News" site (2002
& 2001).
About Dow Jones & Company
In addition to The Wall Street Journal and its international and online
editions, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dowjones.com) also publishes
Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones
Indexes and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner
with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC of the
CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news
content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
About Harris Interactive®
Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market
research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll®,
and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate
market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Harris Interactive
combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive,
custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research from
its U.S. offices and through wholly owned subsidiaries—London-based HI
Europe (www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris and Tokyo-based Harris
Interactive Japan—as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network
of independent market- and opinion-research firms. EOE M/F/D/V
To become a member of the Harris Poll OnlineSM and be invited to
participate in future online surveys, visit www.harrispollonline.com.
Press Contacts:
Nicole C. Pyhel
The Wall Street Journal Online
609-520-4057
nicole.pyhel@dowjones.com
Bonnie Hughes
Harris Interactive
585-214-7541
bhughes@harrisinteractive.com
Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive
585-214-7316
nwong@harrisinteractive.com
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