Report examines medical mistakes

A report released at a conference in Des Moines Wednesday discussed a study of the challenges facing health care providers in avoiding mistakes in treating patients. Mary Hansen of the Iowa Department of Public Health says the first year of the study shows doctors believe there needs to be better communication on both sides.She says there needs to be more patient education about their disease, there needs to be more emphasis on prevention and better communication between patients and providers. Hansen says the report shows a need for more flow of information both ways.Hansen says the second year of the study’ll ask patients about their concerns. They’ll use information from both to come up with a pilot training program. Ronda Cochran is an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control which is providing the funding to study the issue in Iowa.She says Iowa is serving as a nationwide model for improving patient safety. Cochran says Iowa’s varied population makes the state a good area to study.Cochran says Iowa has a good urban-rural mix of residents that varies in age, making it a unique demographic mix to study. The C-D-C gave the Iowa Department of Public Health a 500-thousand dollar grant to fund the study.