"Oops I did it again," may have made millions as a pop song, but for 11 preventable medical errors, it will no longer get you paid by the Indianapolis-based insurer, WellPoint, according to an article in today's Indianapolis Star.

WellPoint joins a growing number of public and private payers in efforts aimed at promoting quality, reducing errors, and controlling costs in our medical system. WellPoint's new policy adopts the steps taken by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last fall to no longer pay for preventable medical errors, injuries and infections that occur in hospitals.

Like CMS, WellPoint will make sure that neither it nor its patients pay for three so-called "never events"—surgical mistakes that should never happen under any circumstances. They are:

• Surgery on the wrong body part
• Surgery on the wrong patient
• The wrong surgery performed on a patient.

Additionally the insurer will limit payments for the following events, all of which are highly preventable when evidenced-based guidelines are adhered to:

• Object left in the body during surgery: Typically instruments, sponges, or towels.
• Air embolism: Occurs when an intravenous line introduces oxygen into the bloodstream which can create potentially life-threatening blockages.
• Blood incompatibility: Wrong blood type given to the patient.
• Catheter-associated urinary tract infection: Account for 32 percent of health-care associated infections-largely a product of poor hygiene practices.
• Decubitus: Bed sores which occur when a patient is not turned frequently enough (about every 2 hours)and cost Medicare on average $40,000 a patient.
• Vascular catheter-associated infection: Like catheter-associated UTIs, a product of poor wound and catheter hygiene.
• Mediastinitis: Infections inside the wound after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
• Hospital-acquired injuries: Fractures, dislocations, intracranial injuries, crushing injuries and burns—preventable with proper supervision and care.

The CDC estimates that about 1.7 million infections are acquired each year in hospitals and other health-care facilities.That translates into roughly 99,000 deaths and $4.5 billion in extra costs. Preventing errors and injuries listed above represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of improving quality and reducing costs (CMS estimated the new payment policies would produce yearly savings in the millions).

But the approaches taken by CMS, WellPoint and others to such problems are both innovative and important: Doctors, nurses, and hospitals already should be doing the things that prevent these errors. Designing payment systems that reflects evidence-based standards of care can help ensure that they do. And paying for performance is something we can all sing "Gimme More" to.