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Safety Tips to Prevent Medical Errors

According to research, up to 440,000 people in the United States die as a result of preventable medical errors in hospitals. This puts medical errors as the third leading cause of death in the country. The cost of preventable medical errors is tens of billions of dollars every year.

Avoiding medical errors before they happen

Approximately 200,000 deaths are due to preventable medical errors in New York and around the country every year. A 2010 study found that even if doctors or nurses witnessed mistakes by a medical provider, fewer than 10 percent spoke up. This may be a significant problem if hospitals are seeking to lower the risk to patients.

The impact of adverse events on New York patients

According to a study done by the Journal of Patient Safety, as many as 440,000 patients may die each year due to hospital medical errors. If the figure is accurate, it would represent a significant increase when compared to earlier studies. In 1999, a notable study conducted by the Institute of Medicine found that 98,000 people allegedly die each year due to hospital errors.

Differential Diagnosis and Medical Malpractice

When you are receiving medical care, the doctor might want to do a differential diagnosis to determine the most likely cause of your health problem. When you go to a doctor with a complaint, the doctor will ask many questions, to narrow down what the most likely cause is for your sickness.

A Minor Procedure can Damage a Person’s Life

Most medical malpractice cases are not about complicated surgical procedures, and in fact are to do with minor procedures that go horribly wrong because the doctor was unaware of the consequences of such procedure or did not have the right knowledge about the implants used in the procedure. Here is a case of a young person in New York who suffered extensive emotional and physical trauma because the doctor did not know what he was doing and failed to provide the required standard of care.

Avoiding doctors errors

A typical visit to a doctor in New York consists of reviewing the patient’s medical records and continuation of treatment. It is important to disclose any pertinent information about the family history. Withholding this type of information may lead to improper diagnosis, incorrect prescriptions and inappropriate treatment. It is also vital to ask questions and become better educated about the entire process.

Experiencing a Damaged Nerve by a Surgeon

Every surgical procedure is associated with its own set of risks, more so when anesthesia is used. Nerve damage caused by a surgical miscalculation is one of the biggest risks. A surgery that is negligently performed can sometimes result in nerve damage, both temporary and permanent. This could eventually lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit. People who suffer from nerve injury can exhibit a variety of symptoms such as:

Do patients have the right to know about previous doctor errors?

Medical malpractice, negligence and doctor errors are a frightening prospect for patients. These potential issues raise the question: do patients have the right to know if their doctor has been cited for malpractice or doctor errors? A recent study into this issue has found that over 77 percent of New York doctors who have faced citations continue to practice.