Patient advocates are demanding greater transparency and better support for victims of medical errors ahead of the official release of the latest statistics. Eugen Brysch, chairman of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Thursday edition) that estimates suggest there are annually 20,000 avoidable deaths caused by errors in clinics alone. “Therefore, there is an urgent need for a central registry for medical errors in both outpatient and inpatient care settings. Furthermore, establishing a hardship fund for those who have been damaged is overdue.”
The Medical Service of the Health Insurers is scheduled to present figures for the past year this Thursday. Meanwhile, the Techniker Krankenkasse reported a new record in late May for the number of suspected cases of medical errors reported to them.
However, Brysch noted that the available statistics from the Medical Service or the German Medical Association offer only “fragments.” He argued that the culture regarding medical errors in the healthcare system remains underdeveloped. “Both the federal government and the service providers are letting this issue drag on. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for action.”
In addition to pushing for a central registry and a hardship fund, he also called for “a legal provision for a reversal of the burden of proof when the probability strongly favors the affected parties.” To improve patient protection, clinics and practices would also be required to “actively use existing reporting systems for critical incidents.” Currently, participation in systems known as CIRS is voluntary. Within ten years, only 500 medical errors were registered in participating general practitioner practices.
