The Third Leading Cause Of Death
Stark reality, there is a myriad of ways where a patient can and will become affected by a medical error, that would encompass or fall under a wide-range of possible circumstances. From what I researched medical errors was reportedly the third leading cause of death in the United States. That fact was highlighted in an article that appeared on the website: Hospital Safety Score. The article was presented on: October 23rd, 2013 and was appropriately titled: Hospital Errors are the Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S., and New Hospital Safety Scores Show Improvements Are Too Slow.
Another interesting perspective to add into the topic is from an individual (a father) who was impacted at a personal level, and dedicated the site – Patient Safety
America, to his own son.
• “I have published an estimate that preventable adverse events in hospitals contribute to the deaths of 440,000 Americans each year” (James, 2016).
Source: http://patientsafetyamerica.com/
Additionally, I reviewed an article – Medical Errors, Past and Present from CBS News, that was dated: November 27th, 2007. It was written by: Dan Childs. The news article reports on the actions of a Doctor who inexplicably performed brain surgery on the wrong side of the head. What was unfathomable was that it happened at the same hospital, not once, or twice, but three times.
Circumstances that surround an event in question, or the severity of the of the wrongful action would be paramount on seeking litigation against the medical facility or the health care professionals in question.
Would a simple apology from the Doctor who performed brain surgery on the wrong side of the head, not once, but twice be sufficient to the family or the patient in question?
Or the Nurse prescribing the wrong dosage resulting in the unfortunate death of the baby, would a simple apology suffice, even if it was her only medical mistake that she had during her entire career and would lead to her own suicide. (Caldwell, 2011)
At the start of the week’s discussion there was an informative article that I reviewed that highlighted the benefits of a strong Doctor-Patient relationship, that transparency between the two parties during the course of their relationship may very well negate the impact of litigation that may result from unforeseen actions. However, as previously mentioned the severity of the actions may be the defining factor that would dictate a course of action.
Another interesting perspective to add into the topic is from an individual (a father) who was impacted at a personal level, and dedicated the site – Patient Safety
America, to his own son.
• “I have published an estimate that preventable adverse events in hospitals contribute to the deaths of 440,000 Americans each year” (James, 2016).
Source: http://patientsafetyamerica.com/
Additionally, I reviewed an article – Medical Errors, Past and Present from CBS News, that was dated: November 27th, 2007. It was written by: Dan Childs. The news article reports on the actions of a Doctor who inexplicably performed brain surgery on the wrong side of the head. What was unfathomable was that it happened at the same hospital, not once, or twice, but three times.
Circumstances that surround an event in question, or the severity of the of the wrongful action would be paramount on seeking litigation against the medical facility or the health care professionals in question.
Would a simple apology from the Doctor who performed brain surgery on the wrong side of the head, not once, but twice be sufficient to the family or the patient in question?
Or the Nurse prescribing the wrong dosage resulting in the unfortunate death of the baby, would a simple apology suffice, even if it was her only medical mistake that she had during her entire career and would lead to her own suicide. (Caldwell, 2011)
At the start of the week’s discussion there was an informative article that I reviewed that highlighted the benefits of a strong Doctor-Patient relationship, that transparency between the two parties during the course of their relationship may very well negate the impact of litigation that may result from unforeseen actions. However, as previously mentioned the severity of the actions may be the defining factor that would dictate a course of action.