Overview Patient safety errors can be deadly, and they are most definitely costly. The Institute of Medicine reports that national costs related to patient safety issues are between $17 and $29 billion annually. According to a Consumer Reports article earlier this year, more people die from [hospital-acquired] infections than from auto accidents and homicides combined. Why Do So Many Still Die Needlessly in Hospitals? ARTICLE, USA Today — "When a report came out last week from a private group claiming that nearly 200,000 hospital patients die each year from preventable medical errors, it promptly sparked a fierce controversy..." Click here for the full text of the article.