Hospital finances and patient safety outcomes — Encinosa 2005

Hospitals are under more financial stress now. It is unknown if these budgetary constraints have increased the number of patient safety issues. This study investigates whether financial strain on hospitals is linked to increases in the rate of patient safety events (such as medical errors) for major surgeries using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Data for Florida from 1996 to 2000. The results demonstrate that when hospital profit margins decrease over time, patients have considerably higher probability of experiencing unfavorable patient safety events (nursing-related patient safety events, surgical-related patient safety events, and all likely preventable patient safety events). The result that a within-hospital erosion of hospital operating profitability increases the rate of adverse patient safety incidents indicates that any cost-cutting actions be carefully conceived and managed.

Encinosa, W. E., & Bernard, D. M. (2005). Hospital Finances and Patient Safety Outcomes. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 42(1), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_42.1.60