The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced plans to improve the quality of care in hospitals and reduce the number of "never events." "Never events" are preventable medical errors that result in serious consequences for the patient.

Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems stated, "Never events cause serious injury or death to beneficiaries and result in unnecessary costs to Medicare and Medicaid due to the need to treat the consequences of the errors. The steps we are taking reflect our strong conviction that these events should be prevented and our commitment to protecting Medicare and Medicaid patients from them."
 
This new plan may help reduce the number of errors in management of blood sugar levels and surgical site infections for kidney patients.

This article originally appeared in the August 2008 issue of AAKP Public Policy Briefing.