Scheduling Errors Can Become Life Threatening Hospital Mistakes
Minor hospital mistakes can end in tragedy for patients. Whether a lab test leads to a misdiagnosis or a prescription error causes an allergic reaction, consequences can be life threatening. In Louisiana, a family has filed a lawsuit against Interim Louisiana State University Hospital, alleging a breach in the standard of care. After being diagnosed… Read more »
Posted in Medical Negligence
How Can Surgery Mistakes Affect Patients?
Last week we wrote about ‘never events’, surgery mistakes that injure and kill patients. One type of surgery mistake occurs when surgeons leave objects such as sponges and surgical equipment inside of patients. Estimates by the journal JAMA Surgery suggest that during 1 in 100,000 surgeries, surgeons leave something behind inside of patients. The medical… Read more »
Tags: SurgeryMistakes
Posted in Surgical Errors
Are Older Doctors More Likely To Commit Medical Mistakes?
The American Medical Association (AMA) recently met in Chicago for its annual policy-making meeting, where it discussed whether aging doctors should be given competency tests. Discussion about testing comes at a time when there are more than 240,000 physicians over the age of 65, about one-fourth of all doctors. Unlike other professions, such as piloting… Read more »
Tags: MedicalMistakes
Posted in Medical Negligence
Doctor Who Gave Fake Cancer Treatments Gets 45 Years In Prison
A Michigan doctor was recently sentenced to 45 years in prison for falsely diagnosing his patients with cancer, then giving them chemotherapy treatments to defraud Medicaid and private insurance companies. According to the authorities, the doctor had misdiagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, a terminal blood cancer. Over the course of several years, the doctor defrauded… Read more »
Tags: Chemotherapy
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Can Being Mean to Your Child’s Doctor Lead to Worse Care?
It is essential for doctors to maintain a healthy state of mind while practicing medicine. Unfortunately, we as patients or family members can sometimes lose our patience. It turns out being rude to your doctor puts them into an unhealthy state of mind and increases the risk of being harmed by a medical mistake. Research… Read more »
Tags: Pediatrics
Posted in Medical Negligence
This Common Health Condition Is A Major Cause Of Preventable Hospital Deaths
Health complications caused by blood clots are a leading cause of preventable hospital deaths. One such complication is a pulmonary embolism, which occurs when blood clots travel to and block arteries in the lungs. Deaths caused by pulmonary embolisms in hospitals are surprisingly common. Many factors can increase the risk of a pulmonary embolism. Patients… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Can You Be Billed for Medical Mistakes?
Medical mistakes are not only a threat to your individual safety, they are also damaging to your wallet. According to an article published by Kaiser Health News, patients are frequently billed for medical mistakes. The article discusses the story of a man who suffered from a surgical error, and ended up on the hook for… Read more »
Tags: MedicalNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Are Superbug Infections the Ultimate Patient Safety Threat?
The medical community expressed alarm over a case in Nevada involving an elderly woman who died from a superbug infection. Doctors could not keep the infection from spreading, and later determined she was infected with the superbug CRE. This case is a reminder that superbug infections could become the most serious patient safety threat of… Read more »
Tags: PatientCare
Posted in Medical Negligence
4 Common Pharmacy Mistakes that Can Harm Patients
have the potential to cause serious injuries or deaths to patients, so it is important to recognize how these errors are made. In some cases, patients or family members can prevent pharmacy mistakes with extra diligence. The following four pharmacy errors are among the most common: Mistaken handwriting: In some cases, a doctor’s poor handwriting… Read more »
Tags: Prescription
Posted in Medication Errors
Florida Hospitals Lose Funding for Patient Safety Hazards
Seven hospitals in Northeast Florida are losing Medicare funding for having high rates of hospital-acquired infections and other patient safety hazards. Under a provision in the Affordable Care Act, hospitals are graded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on patient safety. Hospitals are assigned scores on a 10-point scale. Those in the bottom… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Negligence
