A landmark report by the Institute of Medicine in 1999 cited the fragmented health-care system and patients' reliance on multiple providers as a leading cause of medical mistakes. Leape, who helped author that report, says there have been improvements since, but "we have not done enough."
Subsequent studies suggest the toll may be even higher than the Institute of Medicine estimated. A 2010 federal report projected that 15,000 Medicare patients every month suffered such serious harm in the hospital that it contributed to their deaths. Read more..
