The media has recently reported on numerous cases of both accidental and intentional prescription overdose in which the victims' families blame the prescribing physician. Some of these cases have merit. After all, actionable medical malpractice cases arise when physicians and other healthcare providers fail to treat patients in accordance with certain standards of care. If a physician prescribes medications negligently, recklessly or in accidental error, he or she may generally be held liable for harm done to the patient taking the prescribed medication.
Child's misdiagnosis and death inspire new patient safety measures
Unfortunately, it sometimes takes the shock of tragedy to inspire reform. This is as true in medicine as it is in politics. In one recent case, the misdiagnosis and death of young boy named Rory has inspired new safety measures designed to prevent Rory's story from happening to any more patients.
A Famous Doctor Ponders Lowering the Rate of Medical Mistakes
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has become a household name in the U.S. as the friendly physician on television who educates us about a wide range of medical topics. He is largely respected by the public and seen as an authoritative, yet approachable, professional figure.
Proposed Healthcare Safety Entity Would Mirror Success of NTSB
Patient safety is a critical issue for the medical community and patients themselves. Many patient safety advocates believe more should be done to protect patients from preventable medical errors. To that end, some advocates have promoted the idea of creating an entity for the medical community that would be similar to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates transportation accidents and initiates preventative actions in the aviation industry.
Medicare Study Explores Patient Safety, Though Some Question Data
As a result of the 2010 federal health care law, Medicare has begun studying hospitals and patient safety across the country. The idea behind the review is to identify hospitals with patient-safety problems in an effort to encourage improvement by linking Medicare reimbursements to improved safety records. Increased patient safety may lead to a downturn in the need for medical malpractice suits.
Would Universal Patient IDs Decrease Medical Errors?
If you have ever attempted to transfer your medical records from one health care provider to another you know that it often requires a significant amount of time and paperwork. As health systems in the U.S. attempt to move into the 21st century by shifting to electronic medical records, questions are being raised about the idea of offering all individuals universal patient identifiers (UPIs).
