Recommendations to Reduce the Risk of Hospital Malpractice

By Carl Saiontz
Posted October 7, 2008

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According to the Fifth Annual Healthgrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study of 2008, there are over 270,000 hospital deaths every year that could be prevented. These hospital malpractice mistakes should not occur if doctors, nurses and hospital staff follow the proper standards of medical care, and there are several steps that family members and friends can take to help reduce the risk of a serious injury.

>>INFORMATION: Hospital Malpractice Lawsuits

There is a new book by Martine Ehrenclou, “Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive,” which contains several tips that can help prevent hospital malpractice. The recommendations outlined in the book are based on interviews with nurses, doctors, psychologists, hospital staff and family members.

While certainly the recommendations may cause inconvenience for family members, and may not be appreciated by all of the hospital staff, the author recommends that one relative or close friend act as a watchdog and monitor hospital care during the stay.

Some of the specific tips for that caregiver include:

• The caregiver should act as the patient’s ears and eyes, maintaining a record of the physicians’ and nurses’ names and details about the patient’s treatment plan and diagnosis.
• The caregiver should write down the names of all medications and dosages to prevent a hospital medication mistakes. It is recommended that they track the color and shape of the pills, names on the bottle labels and IV bags and the appearance of the medicine.
• To prevent hospital malpractice events caused by errors involving patient mix-ups, the caregiver should clarify the patient’s name and treatment procedure with each and every hospital staff member who comes to take the patient for a procedure or to render treatment.
• The caregiver should accompany the patient to the operating room and see the surgeon before surgery to reduce the risk of surgical malpractice involving the wrong body part. Ask the surgeon to mark the body part where surgery is to be performed and to give details regarding the type of surgery.
• The caregiver should make sure that all physicians, nurses, staff and visitors who come in contact with the patient wash their hands and wear a fresh pair of disposable gloves to reduce the risk of highly infectious disease, such as pneumonia and MRSA.

HOSPITAL MALPRACTICE LAWYERS

The Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate potential lawsuits for hospital mistakes and errors throughout the country. While preventable hospital malpractice mistakes are often called “never events,” since they should not occur if proper care and attention is provided, they do happen every day. While a caregiver may not be able to completely eliminate mistakes, they certainly reduce the risk of problems during the hospital stay.

If you, a friend or family member have suffered a severe or fatal injury was a result of a hospital mistake that could have been prevented, request a free consultation and case evaluations.