Horrifying Surgical Mistake: Surgery Performed On Wrong Newborn
We recently discussed how medical mistakes can permanently alter the lives of hospital patients. Wrong-patient surgeries are one of the worst types of medical mistakes. When children are the victims of these mistakes, it is especially tragic. In Tennessee, doctors operated on the wrong newborn, possibly causing permanent damage. According to the mother, doctors made… Read more »
Tags: MedicalError
Posted in Birth Injury
How Pharmacy Mistakes Harm Patients and Destroy Lives
Medical negligence can affect patients inside and outside of hospitals. Pharmacy mistakes are horrific because patients take medications believing it will help alleviate symptoms, but instead suffer frightening or fatal side effects. There are several reasons why pharmacy mistakes happen. Pills can look identical or have similar sounding names. Doctors are known for having awful… Read more »
Tags: SideEffects
Posted in Medication Errors
Hospital Horror Stories: What Are the Consequences of Wrong-Patient Surgeries?
Never events are medical mistakes that can severely reduce the quality of life for patients, or in the worst case scenarios, result in death. While some never events are worse than others, it is always patients who pay the price for these horrific mistakes. Wrong-patient surgeries are one of the worst possible never events, and… Read more »
Tags: PatientSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
New Federal Warning System Could Identify Dangerous Medical Devices
Medical devices can be extremely useful for diagnosing patients with health conditions, but these tools can also cause significant problems for patients. For example, duodenoscopes are used in tens of thousands of medical procedures, but are difficult to clean and could expose patients to superbug infections. Almost 200 patients in the U.S. developed infections from… Read more »
Tags: PatientCare
Posted in Medical Malpractice
3 Common Nursing Errors that Harm Patients
Nurses are hospital staff members most likely to spend an extended amount of time with patients. Unfortunately, nurses are notoriously overworked, often caring for multiple patients at once. There is only so much a person can do, so nursing errors are bound to happen. Sometimes these mistakes can have deadly consequences for patients. Medication Errors:… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
What Patients Should Know About CT Scans and Other Imaging Tests
Last week, we wrote about how more hospitals and doctors are overprescribing potentially dangerous imaging tests for minor health problems. Medical tests such as X-rays, CT scans and MRIs are being used to diagnose back pain, headaches, stomach aches and other common conditions. Although these conditions might be serious, the overuse of imaging tests can… Read more »
Tags: CTScan
Posted in Medical Malpractice
3 Ways Communication Can Improve Patient Safety in Hospitals
Communication is essential for promoting patient safety. When hospital staff members communicate with patients, each other and the public, it becomes more difficult to cause medical errors. These three examples can show how communication prevents common medical mistakes. Handoff errors: While receiving treatment at hospitals, patients are likely to fall under the care of multiple… Read more »
Tags: PatientCare
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Why Unnecessary Medical Tests Are Bad for Patient Safety
When we check into hospitals, health care workers almost immediately begin carrying out tests. Hospital staff will take our blood pressure, check our reflexes or look for swollen lymph nodes. Basic tests to collect vitals are often harmless, but other methods for diagnosing health conditions can put patients in harm’s way. An overabundance of tests… Read more »
Tags: PatientSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
3 Reasons Why Hospital Transparency is Good for Patient Safety
Earlier this week, we discussed the tragic deaths that occurred at St. Mary’s Medical Center. CNN’s investigation shows that from 2011 to 2013, the hospital maintained a death rate of 12.5 percent for its pediatric heart surgery program. If parents had known about the high death rate, would they have chosen another hospital? Transparency can… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Are Florida’s New Hospital Standards Hurting Children?
Florida is dropping hospital standards that have helped keep pediatric heart patients safe since the 1970s. According to a CNN article, the change comes after Tenet Healthcare contributed $200,000 to state lawmakers. Tenet Healthcare is the organization behind St. Mary’s Medical Center, a Florida hospital where several children died during heart surgery. A CNN investigation… Read more »
Tags: Pediatric
Posted in Medical Malpractice
