Medical Errors are Preventable when Patients Get Involved in Treatment
The number of medical errors in the United States borders on hard to believe. Wrong-site surgeries, incorrect drug prescriptions and hospital stay errors are way to frequent.
This brings up the question, “Is it possible for the average patient to reduce the risk of experiencing a medical or prescription error? According to the New York State Health Department the answer is yes, and the organization has provided a lengthy list of advices to “help prevent medical errors.”
Number one in importance is this: “The single most important way you can help to prevent errors is to be an active member of your healthcare team.” This means that a person should actively take part in each and every decision because research shows that patients who are more involved in their care tend to get better results.
Imagine trusting your doctor to do surgery on your left knee only to find out upon awakening that the procedure was done on your right leg? According to the advisory, wrong-site surgery is something that should be 100% preventable and patient involvement with a doctor prior to surgery can go a long way to preventing it. “The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons urges its members to sign their initials directly on the site to be operated on before surgery,” says the advisory. Get involved and get it right would be the advice.
Regarding hospital stays, it’s best to select a hospital where many patients have already received the procedure you need. Infections received in a hospital are sometimes more dangerous than the procedure, so make certain everyone in the hospital who has any contact with you washes their hands. When leaving the hospital, get specific instructions for your continued recovery.
Medication errors are way too frequent. Here are some simple things to do to help prevent them. It starts with fully informing a doctor if you are taking any medications, have any allergies or any prior adverse drug reactions. Make sure that you can read the prescription written by the doctor and get it rewritten if you can’t. When getting the prescription filled, make sure you ask the pharmacist if the one you’re getting is what was prescribed. Don’t be afraid to ask the pharmacist lots of questions about taking the medication.
Finally, learn to speak up when you have questions, and make the doctor answer no matter how busy he seems or how quickly he wants to get you out of the office so he can get on to the next patient. Take a family member or advocate with you if you need help doing this. Also, learn everything you can about your condition and treatment. There is a wealth of information available these days over the internet, for instance. The more you know the more you can have a say in your own correct treatment. This will go a long way to providing you with a good chance for a healthy recovery and avoiding becoming a medical statistic.
