State Officials Fine 12 Hospitals for Major Patient Safety Issues

On Friday, the California Department of Public Health announced fines levied on 12 hospitals for serious medical errors that sometimes led to patient injuries or death, the Los Angeles Times reports (Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times, 11/13).

The department issued 14 penalties totaling $575,000 (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 11/15).

Background

Under a 2006 state law, hospitals must notify state regulators of all significant patient injuries.

For incidents occurring prior to 2009, the state issued $25,000 fines for each violation. Starting in January 2009, the sanctions increased to $50,000 for a hospital's first violation, $75,000 for its second and $100,000 for its third and subsequent violations (California Healthline, 5/21).

Since the law took effect, state regulators have issued 170 fines totaling $4.8 million against 112 hospitals. Hospitals are appealing 39 of those fines.

Latest Penalties

The 12 hospitals targeted in the latest round of penalties are:

• California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, which received one $50,000 fine and one $75,000 fine;
• Citrus Valley Medical Center in Covina, which received one $25,000 fine;
• Hanford Community Medical Center, which received one $25,000 fine;
• Kindred Hospital in Westminster, which received one $25,000 fine;
• Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, which received one $50,000 fine;
• Petaluma Valley Hospital, which received one $50,000 fine;
• Placentia Linda Hospital, which received one $25,000 fine;
• Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, which received one $50,000 fine;
• Southwest Healthcare System in Riverside County, which received one $25,000 fine;
• UC-San Francisco Medical Center, which received two $25,000 fines;
• USC University Hospital in Los Angeles, which received one $50,000 fine; and
• Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, which received one $75,000 fine (HealthLeaders Media, 11/15).

DPH requires all penalized facilities to submit plans to correct the patient safety issues. Hospitals also can appeal the fines (Los Angeles Times, 11/13).

Funds collected from the penalties are set aside for projects to improve patient safety (HealthLeaders Media, 11/15).

Read more: http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2010/11/15/state-officials-fine-12-hospitals-for-major-patient-safety-issues.aspx?topic=hospitals#ixzz16HDqK4ja

Public Pressure Is Working

7 SoCal Hospitals Fined For Medical Errors

KTLA News August 18, 2008, 8:58 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES -- Seven hospitals in L.A. and Orange counties were fined today by the state for mistakes that included leaving surgical tools in patients and over-medicating a patient.

"Ensuring all Californians receive quality patient care is our top priority," said Kathleen Billingsley, deputy director of the Center for Health Care Quality with the California Department of Public Health.

Statewide, fines were levied against a total of 18 hospitals -- some of which had multiple violations -- for "incidents that caused, or were likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients."

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance was fined $25,000 for failing to accurately label tissue specimens, which led to unnecessary surgery for one patient and delayed treatment for another, according to DPH. The hospital received a second $25,000 penalty for failing to provide screening examinations and stabilizing medical care in a timely manner for two patients, according to the state healthcare agency.

Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center was fined $25,000 for not providing adequate nursing staff for a suicide watch to meet the needs of a patient, DPH found.

Five hospitals in Orange County were fined $25,000 per violation cited by the state.

Anaheim General Hospital received two violations for failing to ensure medical devices were electronically safe and for failing to maintain the pharmacy's refrigerated temperatures.

Coastal Communities Hospital in Santa Ana was fined for over-medicating a patient, resulting in death.

At Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, doctors left a sponge in a patient following surgery.

At Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, hospital staff left a surgical instrument in a patient.

At Los Alamitos Medical Center, a patient died after falling out of a wheelchair. State regulators found hospital staff failed to buckle the person into the chair.

The hospitals may appeal the penalties by requesting a hearing within 10 days of notification.