It takes several years of studying and training to become a doctor. This is because medical professionals are tasked with looking after the health of other people. Often, it is literally a case of life and death. You want your doctor to be assured and competent at...
Year: 2022
What are never events in a hospital?
Mistakes will always happen in any workplace, and hospitals are no different. Doctors and nurses are humans, after all, and humans make mistakes every day. Yet, there are some errors that are so avoidable that medical authorities term them “never events.”...
What do hospitals do about surgeons too old to operate safely?
Americans are living longer and retiring later in life. That holds true for physicians. More and more practicing physicians are over 65. Some people find it reassuring to see the same doctor they’ve had since they were a child or they just feel safer with an older...
Did sexism determine the outcome of your recent surgery?
Surgery may be the only viable solution if a doctor needs to remove a tumor or correct damage to one of your tendons. Although surgeries are inherently invasive, some of them require far more recuperation and preparation than others. For a doctor to operate on human...
Medical claims A to Z #7
WHO IS TREATING YOU? Emergency Room Hazards LEE S. GOLDSMITH, M.D., LLB You go to an Emergency Room, you are need of care—-What care will you get? What care should you expect? Obviously the care that you will get and should expect is going to be dependent on where you...
Can you help avoid being the victim of a medication error?
As a patient, you expect doctors to prescribe you the correct drugs in the correct dosages. If you are in the hospital, you expect them to administer them correctly. Expecting them to do that is fine. That is what they are trained and paid for, after all. Assuming...
Medical malpractice and psychological damage
No matter how it happens, medical malpractice injures all aspects of your life. Even a minor mistake can significantly impact your life expectancy and physical comfort. Unfortunately, malpractice also leads to pervasive psychological anguish affecting you and your...
Common surgical errors in the operating room
Despite the laws and strict standards protecting patients from medical malpractice, thousands of cases occur annually across the country. Many of those patients are victims of negligence in the operating room. For most of them, life is never the same. A botched...
When doctors don’t like their work, that’s a problem for patients
Maybe you’ve seen images of smiling doctors attending to grateful patients. Promotional materials for health care insurance, private clinics and medical school are full of them. It turns out the reality is not quite like that. A 2018 study found that 54% of doctors...
2 reasons that nurses make drug administration errors
Nurses and medical aides working at residential facilities have a lot of responsibility. Whether they work at an inpatient cancer ward at the local hospital or a nursing home, their actions have a direct impact on the quality of life of the patients and residents...