KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and SportsMedical mistakes in Minn. down 3.5 percent in 2009

Medical mistakes in Minn. down 3.5 percent in 2009

Associated Press - January 14, 2010 1:14 AM ET

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A new report from the Minnesota Health Department finds the number of medical mistakes in Minnesota hospitals fell slightly last year. And those mistakes were generally less severe than in previous years.

But the report finds preventable errors are still happening.

The sixth annual "Adverse Health Events" report was released Thursday. It says 301 serious mistakes were reported to the department last year. That's down 3.5 percent from the year before.

Four people died last year - the fewest since the reports began. The high was 24 in 2006.

Health Commissioner Dr. Sanne Magnan (SAN'-ee MAG'-nan) says the "bottom line" is there are fewer events resulting in serious harm to patients, and the severity is going down.

On the Net:

Minnesota Department of Health: http://www.health.state.mn.us/

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