LifeWings, a patient safety consulting firm, offers solutions to protect patients and combat the rising statistics of patients deaths caused by medical error in the U.S. According to a new study in the Journal of Patient Safety, medical errors leading to patient death are much higher than previously thought, and may be as high as 400,000 deaths a year.

The latest numbers are dramatically higher than those in the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report, "To Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System", which estimated that up to 98,000 people a year die because of hospital mistakes. The data for that report was based on medical record reviews from 1984 and did not take into account studies published since 2008.

The new study reveals that each year preventable adverse events (PAEs) lead to the death of 210,000-400,000 patients who seek care at a hospital. Those figures would make medical errors the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

LifeWings provides solutions to this traumatic statistic. LifeWings pioneered the use of aviation-based safety tools to improve patient safety in 2001 and have evolved to achieve dramatic results in hospitals across the country. LifeWings has recently introduced a powerfully effective new training system that combines Lean and TeamSTEPPS ideally suited for the challenges facing Americas healthcare. With their proven tools they have facilitated remarkable, life-saving results with many clients including Rush University Medical Center, Ohio State Wexner Medical, Memorial Healthcare, Vassar Brothers Medical, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Miami Children's Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical, and University of New Mexico Hospitals. Dr. David E. Pitcher, MD, FACS Chief Medical Officer of UNM Hospitals had this to say about LifeWings, "I can draw a direct line between the CRM skills we learned in training with LifeWings and the elimination of surgical errors (RFO). There is no doubt in my mind that those tools were the catalyst."

LifeWings continuously update their methodology and approaches to offer hospitals nationwide a comprehensive suite of services that reflect the latest research on how to improve the quality of healthcare. Through the expert deployment of these evolving methods, LifeWings clients continue to see results like these: http://saferpatients.com/patient-safety-results.htm.

About LifeWings:

LifeWings Partners creates documented, sustainable improvements in cost reduction, efficiency, reliability, safety, and quality by combining the best of Lean and TeamSTEPPS. LifeWings has improved the financial bottom line and patient safety record of over 140 hospitals worldwide. The LifeWings coaching cadre of pilots, astronauts, physicians, nurses and Toyota-trained Lean experts train more than 13,000 administrators, physicians and staff per year. Measurable results are guaranteed in all LifeWings’ initiatives. Documented return on investment typically exceeds 300%. To find out more, please visit http://www.saferpatients.com or https://www.facebook.com/LifeWingsSaferPatients or follow on Twitter @LifeWingsLLC.