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
Hospital Nightmares: What Patients Should Know About Wrong-Site Surgeries
The health care community refers to many surgical errors as ‘never events’, mistakes that should never occur. Wrong-site surgeries are one of the most common never events, and the type of error that can have life-changing consequences for patients. In 2011, CNN wrote an article on a toddler undergoing surgery to fix a lazy eye…. Read more »
Tags: PatientSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Hospital Nightmares: Can I Get a Disease From A Donated Organ?
Donor organs are responsible for saving thousands of lives every year. However, donor organs can sometimes hide significant dangers, such as diseases and malignancies (cancer). If organ donors are improperly screened for conditions like hepatitis C or rabies, future patients can die or suffer permanent health effects. According to the Centers for Disease Control, only… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Does Poverty Affect Quality of Care in Hospitals?
Access to quality health care has been a longstanding problem in America, but the issue is more severe for people with less income. Recent research suggests people living in poorer urban areas of the country have a more difficult time receiving care at hospitals. An article published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shows us the magnitude… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Hospital Nightmares: How Patient Safety is Affected by Tube Mix-Ups
Doctors and other health care practitioners depend on medical devices to save the lives of patients, but sometimes the opposite happens. Medical devices that look similar can create hidden safety hazards for patients, such as tubing equipment. IVs, catheters and feeding tubes can look similar to each other, and are sometimes confused when used on… Read more »
Tags: MedicalMalpractice
Posted in Medical Malpractice
How Hospital Labeling Errors Can Threaten Patient Safety
When hospital lab tests and medications are improperly labeled, patient safety can become severely affected. Labeling errors can lead to diagnostic mistakes and adverse drug reactions. For some patients, the consequences of labeling errors cause permanent injuries or death. Medication errors: We recently wrote a blog on how medication errors are present in 50 percent… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Florida Hospitals Fined for Medical Errors and Infections
After the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare started a policy of reviewing hospital safety and docking institutions with safety violations. The Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction Program (HACRP) aims to reduce the high number of hospital-acquired infections and medical errors. This year, Medicare reduced payments to 758 hospitals by 1 percent for safety issues… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
The Importance of Giving an Accurate Medical History
Our medical histories tell doctors a great deal about us, our families, and our medical future. Medical histories let doctors know the types of medications patients can take, which conditions they have or might develop, and how to treat existing health problems. In many ways, accurate histories help prevent medical mistakes. When doctors have incorrect… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
