The California Department of Public Health has fined three hospitals in San Diego County for safety violations. Scripps Green Hospital, Scripps Memorial in La Jolla, and UCSD are among 13 facilities statewide to be penalized. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has the story.
Scripps Memorial Hospital was fined $50,000 for incidents regarding the same patient. State officials say the hospital's pharmacist failed to recommend the proper dose of a drug during an emergency. The facility was also cited for giving the patient a narcotic patch following surgery, contrary to medical guidelines. Scripps spokesman Don Stanziano says these mistakes won't happen again.
Stanziano: And I think it's really important for the public to understand that these are self-reported incidents. We take that responsibility very seriously at Scripps, we're very pro-active here.
UCSD was fined for improperly monitoring the use of a high-risk drug. The patient involved died in the hospital.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
