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Hospital Mistakes

Health Trends

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22:39

Serious errors are taking place in hospitals everywhere because charts are misread and the medical staff you expect to take care of you isn't always paying attention. And some of the mistakes were made because of pre-surgical errors in the physician's office.

A recent study, conducted through the University of Colorado in Denver, examined a compilation of insurance information from Colorado. More than 27,000 incidents were reported by 6,000 doctors between 2002 and 2008.  It had been previously assumed (at least by the medical community) that these kinds of mix-ups were relatively rare, perhaps one in every 110,000 surgeries. This research, however, is proof positive that these preventable mistakes are not nearly so rare.

With approximately 234 million operations taking place annually around the globe, there is obviously a lot of surgical error, along with the resulting complications and deaths, taking place. Even one mistake is one too many when it's your life that's at stake. But if something as simple as a procedural checklist can dramatically shift the odds in your favor, then clearly it's a no-brainer, at least from your POV, to start enforcing its use.

Listen to this health podcast for more information about protecting your health and your life during your next hospital experience!

Related Articles: Doctors and Drugs, Health Care

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Comments

Submitted by Kim Gailes (not verified) on March 7, 2011 - 8:54pm.

Hi Mom, This audio file was sent to me by my cousins in Denver. The presenter really makes great points. I think this is great information for your class. The presenter also uses "a pilot's checklist" before flying a plane (which I'm sure you will appreciate)as an analogy of what hospitals should do before their patients go in for surgery. It was so wise of you to avoid surgery on your leg back in 2007...and see (with God)it healed up on its own. When you have a few minutes, lease listen to the entire message.

Submitted by Kim Gailes (not verified) on March 7, 2011 - 8:56pm.

Great Information. Please take a few minutes to listen to in its entirety.

Submitted by Max (not verified) on March 28, 2011 - 7:32pm.

Hi, Here in Australia we are lucky to find English speaking doctors. Australian trained doctors go overseas for much greater earnings. Our foreign doctors, if they can't speak the language, must be making many mistakes from reading English written charts. Fortunately most of the nurses are still English spoken. They are our main safety net. This morning's NineMSN headline reads "A newly married NSW woman slowly bled to death on the operating table as the surgeon operating on her refused to seek help, an inquest has heard". The doctor's name Dr Nassief, the anaesthetist's name Hossam Abouelnasr. To any American thinking of coming to Australia, this country doesn't have a medical system any more. You will die waiting to see a doctor. Everyone has a horror story to tell. The sick and injured are treated as a second class race in Australia. Thanks for reading. Max

Submitted by Georgia (not verified) on July 24, 2011 - 2:03pm.

Jon:

Will you please address efficacy and/or replacement of statin drugs?

Georgia

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**Jon Barron is the resident health expert for the "Healthy Trends" radio show in LA, 1680 AM, where this show was aired live. To get the latest health news delivered to your MP3 player or iPod, subscribe to our free health podcast here.

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