Report: Hospital food mistakes pose danger to patients

A new report from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority (PPSA) examined mistakes involving dietary errors in Pennsylvania hospitals over a five-year period. Researchers identified 285 such errors occurred between January 2009 and June 2014.

The most frequently reported error was meals delivered to patients who were allergic to an item on the tray, with serious harm reported in eight events. More than 77% of these allergies were known and documented in the medical record prior to the event.

Other types of events included patients receiving the wrong diet (50), meals meant for other patients (43), and meals delivered to patients who were not supposed to receive any food by mouth (11).

Read the PPSA report.