Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that as many as 98,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical errors. The startling number prompted a rush of congressional hearings and promises of reform. In a report released this week, Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project highlights the lack of progress made since the IOM’s 1999 report and criticized the lack of progress in implementing measures to eliminate medical errors.

In the new report, Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, says that reducing medical errors and hospital infections would not only improve patient care and outcomes, but would also save significant health-care costs. "There is little evidence to suggest that the number of people dying from medical harm has dropped since the IOM first warned about these deadly mistakes a decade ago," said Lisa McGiffert, Director of Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project. "That means a million lives and billions of dollars have been lost over the past ten years because our health-care system failed to adopt key reforms recommended by the IOM to protect patients. As the debate over health care heats up in Washington, Congress should make sure that improving patient safety is a central part of any reform legislation it adopts."