New York Times

…” how a hospital responds to complications may be even more important than the frequency of complications, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Amir A. Ghaferi. The report, prepared by the Michigan Surgical Collaborative for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at the University of Michigan, appears in The New England Journal of Medicine. “A lot of current policies are focused on minimizing complications, and that’s helpful,” Dr. Ghaferi said, but added, “It really behooves us to look at what hospitals are doing once they encounter a complication with a patient in a postsurgical setting” — specifically, how quickly hospital personnel spot a problem, diagnose it and treat it. (Emphasis added)

Source: New York Times, September 30, 2009

Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 361: 1368-1375, October 1, 2009, Number 14.