An estimated 50,000 more patients are alive today that would n't be if hospitals kept making the same number of mistakes they did in 2010 . A 2010 federal study had found that 27 % of Medicare patients had come to some form of harm because of the care they received at the time . This latest report found the most improvement was in the mistakes hospitals make with a patient 's drugs . The biggest improvement came in the form of prescription drug errors , those were down 20 % .
An estimated 50,000 more patients are alive today that would n't be if hospitals kept making the same number of mistakes they did in 2010 . A 2010 federal study had found that 27 % of Medicare patients had come to some form of harm because of the care they received at the time . The biggest improvement came in the form of prescription drug errors , those were down 20 % .