Report: Problems with patient safety in military facilities

Patient care in the nation’s military hospitals is rife with problems, including a lack of scrutiny and regularly avoidable errors, according to the New York Times. The hospitals, which are separate from the Veterans Administration system that has been under fire recently, provide care for 1.6 million active-duty military service people and their families.

An investigation by the Times found that required safety investigations of unexpected patient deaths or severe injuries often never took place. From 2011 to 2013, medical workers reported 239 unexpected deaths, but only 100 cases were sent to the Pentagon’s patient safety center, according to the article. The Times also found high rates of patient harm and complications in maternity care and surgery.

Read the Times article here.