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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A new study has found that as many as 98-thousand Americans die every year from medical mistakes. Those figures are despite a nationwide campaign to improve patient safety since 2000.
The study was released yesterday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Although improvements have occurred at some hospitals and in some categories, the study said the progress is "painstakingly slow."
L-D-S Hospital was one of the first in the nation to use computerized systems for laboratory orders, test results and prescriptions. The computerized systems help avoid misinterpretation of handwriting and keeping a patient's records consolidated.
Now, most of Utah's largest hospitals also have computerized systems.
The JAMA report recommended giving bonuses or incentives to hospitals that improve patient safety.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
