KCAL Insurance Agency
Hospital Need to Clear Record or Report Medical Error
After investigating, the state can issue fines of $50,000 for the first incident, $75,000 for the second and $100,000 for the third or subsequent error at the same hospital. The state must be notified of such errors within five days of the incident, with fines of up to $100 a day for delays.
The state has substantiated reports of 1,100 medical errors since the law took effect in 2007. During that period, the state has fined 112 hospitals for medical errors, and 39 of those have appealed. Eighty-seven hospitals — more than 20% of the 418 hospitals covered under the law that took effect in 2007 — have made no reports of medical errors, according to the California Department of Public Health. The high percentage has raised concerns that errors have gone unreported. Some patient advocates say it is an indication that hospitals are unwilling to police themselves. State officials have given hospitals until Tuesday to verify their records as error-free or to report errors, as required by law.
Source: LA Times