In the second year of its operation, the Nova Scotia Medical Error Registry had recorded an increase in reported errors from 77 in 2014, to 128 in 2015, according to numbers released in the province’s Serious Reportable Events database. That increase may not reflect an increase in errors, but rather a shift in practice, as the reporting of errors becomes part of the culture of improving health care.
Nova Scotia has been tracking medical errors in their hospitals since January 2014. The medical errors that must be reported are serious reportable events, which are defined as an adverse health event which results in serious disability or death and includes but is not limited to the actual or potential loss of life, limb or function related to a health care service.
In 26 of the 205 events reported since the inception of the program, patients suffered death or disability due to a misdiagnosis or an unspecified care management problem.
At Pacific Medical Law we often hear from people who have experienced a delay in the diagnosis of a serious medical condition that leads to life-long disability. For example, the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of a spinal epidural abscess causing a spinal cord injury can result in a life spent in a wheelchair. Although it is not always possible to identify negligence in each of these cases, we have been able to help many clients obtain compensation for these injuries.
Read the full Nova Scotia Medical Error Registry story here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-medical-event-database-1.3461082
See the Nova Scotia data from 2014 to 2015 here:
http://novascotia.ca/dhw/hsq/serious-reportable-events.asp
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