Preventing Medical Errors

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Greenberg & Bederman

There are two major principles at work in any medical facility. The first is the Hippocratic Oath, which is basically an affirmation of what practicing medicine is supposed to be about. It includes statements like:

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

Despite having to battle through the economic realities of modern medicine in America, where the insurance companies wield influence in equal measure with the doctors, most medical professionals do their best to abide by this oath.

But the second major principle at work in most hospitals is Murphy’s Law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And the number of medical or surgical errors that take place in this country every year seems to back that up.

The Institute of Medicine released a landmark report back in 1999, in which it was claimed that as many as 98,000 people per year die due to preventable medical errors.  Even with that report having been written a decade ago, both the numbers of errors and practices that lead to them have remained quite solidly in place. In 2008, The Washington Postreported that within a two year period, medical errors led to 238,337 preventable medical errors, and that was only among Medicare recipients. 

 

Medical errors can happen at any point in a patients visit to the hospital. They can happen in the waiting room, they can happen in the operating room or they can happen while you are recuperating in your hospital bed. Any department of the hospital, from the Admitting Room to the Pharmacy, can make a mistake that could conceivably kill you or leave you with severe disabilities.

Many of these errors are beyond your control. After all, you didn’t go to medical school. You don’t have the background in medicine needed to know if your course of treatment is the correct one. You don’t know if you have been given the right medication, or if your surgery is being done correctly. But there are elements of a hospital visit that are within your control, which brings us to a recent article in CNN on how you can avoid becoming the victim of a medical error.

The article is centered on a woman named Kerry Higuera, who was three months into her pregnancy when she experienced an episode of bleeding. She went to the emergency room, and due to what was essentially a miscommunication, Ms. Higuera was given a CAT scan that was meant for a woman with the same first name. This resulted in her unborn child being exposed to radiation, which can be extremely dangerous.

The story ends somewhat happily, in that Ms. Higuera’s child was born healthy, but that still does not change the fact that a medical error resulted in her child being exposed to needless dangers. The article then goes on to list a few things that you can do to help you avoid becoming the victim of a mistake.

Doing simple things like repeating your name, birthday and the procedure that you are in for can go a long way: Don’t ever just assume that the nurses and surgeons know exactly who you are and why you are there. Telling them as often as possible is a way for you to make sure. Don’t be shy about telling everyone from the candy striper to the nurse to the anesthesiologist your name, birthday and the reason for your trip to the hospital.

Don’t underestimate your ID bracelet: That ubiquitous bit of plastic that is placed on the wrist of every patient that enters a hospital might be annoying, but it could save you from getting wheeled into the wrong operating room. This is why you should always take a close look at your bracelet to make sure that the information on it is correct. You should also remember that nurses and doctors are required to check your bracelet to verify your identity, so make sure that they do so if they are able.

Have your chart read to you: It wouldn’t hurt to ask your nurse to read your chart to you. There might be a difference between what you think it says and what it actually does.

Don’t worry about being polite: There are many times when manners and etiquette are important, but a trip to the hospital is not one of them. If you are in the hospital, the odds are that you are in need of medical care or a surgical procedure. Considering the weight of what you are about to undergo in a hospital, being nice takes a backseat to making sure that everything is proceeding as it should. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If something doesn’t feel right or if you aren’t sure that you are getting the treatment that you are supposed to get, you should say something.

You shouldn’t labor under the idea that medical errors only happen to other people. As attorneys who offer legal assistance to injury victims in the Washington, D.C. area, we can tell you with great certainty that mistakes by doctors, nurses or other hospital staff can happen to anyone. And in the event that one happens to you or a loved one in Virginia, Maryland, Baltimore or D.C, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free medical malpractice legal consultation today. We have been providing legal help to victims of medical malpractice or negligence and errors for close to twenty five years, and will do our best to see that you get the compensation you deserve for your injuries.   Remember, not all medical errors are necessarily medical malpractice. To learn more about medical malpractice, read our medical malpractice FAQ page
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