On Dec. 1, 1999, the Institute of Medicine released the report "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Healthcare System." And the repercussions from that study are still being felt today. The report found that medical errors were leading to the deaths of patients who should have left hospitals healthy. Extrapolating information from two previous studies conducted in the 1980s and early 1990s, the study determined that up to 98,000 people died in U.S. hospitals each year because of medical harm. The findings were something the industry was already generally aware of, but not so much outside of the industry. While the number is still cited often as a basis of comparison for deaths, some critics continue to question whether it was an accurate portrayal of problems in the industry, or useful in measuring how safe healthcare really is. A second landmark IOM report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century," was published in 2001.

Tournament Results:

• Round 1: Beat The fall of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.
• Round 2: Beat Creation of Medicare Prospective Pricing System for hospital care
• Round 3: Beat The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's comparative-effectiveness research initiative
• Round 4: Beat Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Round 5: Lost To Hospice Care