New paper place risk of medical error at 50 percent.
A new study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital shows that surgery malpraxis rates are climbing. The paper clearly shows that in the post-operative period many medical faults were discovered. During study period, a number of 275 surgical interventions have been taken into account at the said hospital.
Specialists discovered that in all 275 cases, due to mishaps in carrying out standard drug administration and surgical protocols, approximately 30 percent of the cases we’re deemed to be considered significant and 69 percent we’re severe. Out of the 275 cases observed during the trial, there were only two cases in which medical malpraxis put the life of the patient at risk.
Numbers show that complicated and lengthy surgical interventions tend to have an increased risk of medical error. One of the paper’s author, Karen C Nanji, declared in an interview, that although we should not ignore the consequences of medical errors, some of the hospitals have begun to take appropriate measures. She also said that knowing both the frequency and the number of these medical mishaps, the board is now able to develop strategies that can easily counteract their effects.
Although no hospital can achieve a score of 100 percent in medical safety, they are at least on their way to stagger the growth of medical malpraxis.
This study was primarily focused on how anesthesia providers we’re performing in the operating rooms. It included anesthesiologists working in the operating room, nurses that give pre- and postoperative care to patients. During the 7-month period of observation, the team manage to gather a lot of data regarding the incidence of medical malpraxis.
During a surgical interventions, there are a couple of medical protocols that all staff must abide to, regarding what drug to order or how to administer it. Normally, before an OR specialist can administer a certain drug, the request is being double-check for safety. But the pace can’t can change quite fast. When danger arises, doctors tend to drop out the formalities and bring in the big guns which often leads to the misreading of a certain label. Unfortunately, surgery malpraxis rates are climbing.
To this extent, hospitals began to introduce a number of devices that we’re capable of verifying what the patient received in the OR. Barcode syringes and electronic labels are now standard equipment of any operating room.
Specialist said that they will use this study in order to come up with new strategies capable of successfully countering medical mishaps, because, as the paper’s authors put it, the cost of any medical error is exorbitant.
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