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Patients Urged to Guard Against Medical Errors
In two separate articles from Intelihealth dated January 28, 2002
patients are warned they themselves are the best defense against medical
errors. The first article starts by relaying two tragic cases in the
same week, about serious surgical mistakes in hospitals. In
Connecticut, two women died during surgery
when they were accidentally given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen. In
Rhode Island, a man had a successful brain operation, but only after the
surgeon first drilled into the wrong side of his skull.
A preponderance of these types of problems led the Institute of
Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to release a report in 1999
titled: "To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System" a
private institute which is an advisory body to the U.S. government.
Their report estimates that 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur each year in
hospitals alone as the result of medical mistakes.
Stressing the role that the patient needs to take, an instructor of
medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Gandhi, says patients need to keep
involved and ask questions. "Nurses, pharmacists and physicians all
double-check things, but the patient is the last check." Some
experts are recommending that patients or doctors in advance mark the spot
to be operated on with permanent marker.
Kenneth
W. Kizer, M.D., M.P.H., president of the National Quality Forum, says,
"If you're getting surgery on a knee, for instance, make sure the
correct side is marked 'yes' and the wrong side 'no'. Make sure all
staff members in the operating room know what procedure they are going to
perform. Say, 'We're operating on my right leg, right?' Patients
tend to be too bashful to do that. They assume that everybody knows.
Patients should never assume anything," he concluded.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the
U.S. government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, developed
some recommendations that patients should utilize themselves. These
include;
- Take part in every decision about your health care. Ask questions,
and speak up about anything that you don't understand or that causes
you concern.
- Keep a list of everything you take. Make sure you know the dosages
and the purpose of the medicines. Read medicine labels, including
warnings. Learn what side effects to watch out for, whether the
medicine has dangerous interactions with other drugs, and whether you
should avoid certain activities — such as drinking alcohol or
spending time in the sun — while you are taking it.
- Make sure the medicine you receive is what the doctor actually
prescribed. If it looks different than what you expected, ask the
pharmacist about it.
- Ask the people who care for you if they have washed their hands.
This may make them wash more often.
- Insist that your surgeon write his or her initials or words such as
"yes" or "this side" (in permanent ink) on the
part of the body that is supposed to be operated on.
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