Safety efforts implemented at 3,526 hospitals and open data pledges made by 70 healthcare technology companies saved the lives of 69,519 people in 2016, according to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
The patient safety organization announced the achievement at its 5th Annual Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit held Feb. 3 and 4 in Dana Point, Calif,. The number exceeds the foundation's 2016 goal of saving 50,000 lives.
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Former Vice President Joe Biden delivered the keynote address at the summit, speaking on the importance of eliminating the occurrence of preventable deaths in the healthcare setting.
"We cannot spend billions on sublime new therapies to save lives from cancer, only to lose them tragically as a consequence of predictable mistakes," said Mr. Biden.
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