Avoiding Hospital Errors

One of the nation’s leading causes of death and injury are medical errors. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors.

At The Abelson Law Firm, we know that hospital errors can occur for a variety of reasons because of the complexity of today’s health care system. However, errors can also happen when doctors and their patients have problems communicating.

The potential for a hospital error is great at every stage of the patient’s hospital visit – from the first nurse to check a patient in, to the doctor, to the x-ray technician, to the surgeon, to the pharmacist. Some of the most common hospital errors include doctors’ mistakes; surgical errors; confusion of one patient with another; diagnostic errors; wrong-site surgeries and medication errors.

Each health care provider must be diligent about his or her work in order to ensure that patients have an error-free visit. Unfortunately, hospitals are often busy, short-staffed, and resources are often scarce. This creates an environment conducive to hospital errors.

The following are tips on how to avoid hospital errors by being more involved in your health care:

• Get involved in your health care. Ask questions, and make sure you understand the answers. Take part in every decision about your health care, because research shows the more involved a patient is, the better his or her results.
• Bring in all of the medicines you take. Make sure each one of your doctors knows all the prescription and over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements you are taking.
• Tell doctors about any allergies.
• Choose a hospital that has experience with your condition.Research shows that patients tend to have better results when treated at hospital where their procedures are frequently performed.
• If you are having surgery, make sure that you, your doctor, and your surgeon all agree and are clear on exactly what will be done.Operating on the wrong part of the body is rare, but it happens. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons urges its members to sign their initials directly on the site to be operated on before the surgery.
• Patient advocacy! Ask a family member or friend to be at the hospital with you, and to be your advocate. Even if you think you don’t need help now, you might need it later.
• Ask all health care workers who have direct contact with you whether or not they have washed their hands. Hand washing prevents the spread of infections. A recent study found that when patients checked whether health care workers washed their hands, the workers washed their hands more often and used more soap.
• Get the results of any test or procedure. If you do not get the results when expected, ask when you will get the news. Do not assume no news is good news. Ask questions!

Useful Links:

• Insurance Information Institute
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Division of Quality Assurance
• National Patient Safety Foundation