Health Officials Question Low Hospital Error Figures

LOS ANGELES (AP) — State health officials are expressing skepticism about the reports filed by dozens of California hospitals that they have not had a single significant medical error involving a patient in the past three years.

The Los Angeles Times reports that state health officials have given the hospitals until Tuesday to either verify those records or report any significant errors, as required by a law adopted in 2007.

Since the law took effect, 87 of the state's 418 hospitals have reported no significant errors, the Times reported Sunday.

Jamie Court, president of the Santa Monica-based group Consumer Advocate says such a large number of error-free hospitals, more than 20 percent, is "almost inconceivable."

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