Medical Errors Subject of More Study

Iowa’s in line for half a million dollars in federal money to finance phasetwo of an effort to track down the causes of medical errors. The firstphase was announced this fall and involved the University of Iowa, thefederal Centers for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of PublicHealth. Dr. Stephen Gleason, the director of the Department of PublicHealth, says phase one identified common medical errors and phase two willallow researchers to “drill down” and identify causes.Gleason says there are some crucial questions to resolve, such as how dodecisions made by insurance companies and managed care organizations impactpatient care.The half a million dollars is included in the final version of a budget billthat’s headed for approval in Congress.