If you have ever heard of items being left in patients after an operation you should know that mistakes and medical malpractice from negligence it is more common than one would think. It is estimated that items such as sponges, cloth and at times tools. In recent news, reports about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showed that they had stopped publicly informing about the life-threatening mistakes made by healthcare professionals.

Last summer, CMS had all the date available to anyone, more so for those who could translate it, then it suddenly disappeared just last month without notice. Now that CMS has been called out, the data will once again be available. This information will not be available until around later this year.

Before any of this data was removed, info on how hospitals perform was made readily available; such as the amount of infections from an operation or the types of deaths related to operations. This type of mishaps, according to CMS, did not occur often enough to be seen as reliable.

What can be said about this incident is that it is important to have knowledge. Staying informed on health related topics and happenings is important. Be sure to research your hospital and health care provider, if needed, before undergoing any operation. To keep up with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, you can go to their website at this link: cms.hhs.gov