June 7, 2010

July Is the Worst Month for Hospital Errors

stethescope%201.jpgFor long now, doctors have noticed that the number of medical errors is constant for all months of the year, except in July when there is a noticeable spike in medication errors. It has been suspected that this spike is because more interns are coming in at teaching hospitals during this month. A study by researchers at UC San Diego, now confirms this.

The researchers have published the results of a study, that show that July is easily the worst month when it comes to medication errors. In fact, it's the worst month that you could choose to check into a hospital, simply because you're likely to be treated by inexperienced interns. The rate of medical errors in the month of July is 10% higher than in other months of the year.

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April 5, 2010

Post-Discharge Care Gains Prominence As a Measure of Patient Safety

wheelchair%202.jpgFor the first time, Thompson Reuters has included hospital readmission rates as one of the criteria for inclusion in its annual Top 100 Hospitals list.

However, measuring post-discharge care and dealing with factors that can contribute to a person being re-admitted into a hospital, have proved to be very complex and challenging. Hospitals that have included post-discharge care as part of their overall patient safety efforts, have found that there are a range of factors responsible for readmissions. For instance, readmission rates may be higher when an elderly patient is living alone. Many readmissions every year are traced to medication errors. Besides, a person who suffers from multiple medical conditions, could be at a higher risk of readmission.

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January 14, 2010

Indianapolis Patients Can Prevent Medication Errors

prescriptions.jpgAs Indiana medical malpractice lawyers, we are always looking for ways that patients can protect themselves from medication errors. We came across this simple checklist that a patient can use to take the right medication and the right dosage of medication.

The list outlines three “checkpoints” at which errors can be caught and rectified.

The first checkpoint is at the doctor’s office when you receive your prescription. Make sure that the doctor or nurse informs you of the:
• Drug name
• Strength
• Dosage
• Dosage procedure
• Why you need the medicine
• What the medication will do
• How quickly you will see results

Remember those drugs are going into your system, and ultimately will affect your health. You have every right as a patient to demand information, and your doctor has every duty to provide the information you need.

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December 17, 2009

New Medication Error Alert System Promises to Reduce Frequency of Errors

Intravenous.jpgApproximately 1.3 million people in the country, including thousands in Indiana, are injured every year from medication errors. Of these:

* 41 percent of deaths were linked to improper dosage
* 16 percent involved distribution of the wrong medicine
* another 16 percent was attributed to the wrong route of medication administration

Now, a new national alert program is aiming to minimize the frequency of such medication errors.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) have developed the National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors. Actor Dennis Quaid recently announced the launch of the alert program. Quaid has some personal experience with the trauma that patients and families go through when they are injured by these preventable errors. In 2007, his twin boys were administered an excessive dose of the drug heparin. The event occurred at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

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November 30, 2009

Indiana Physician’s License Suspension May be Extended

pills%202.jpgInformation released this week indicates that a request is before the Indiana Medical Licensing Board asking to consider extending a suspension for an Indiana physician.

The Indiana Medical Licensing Board met on October 27, 2009 and unanimously voted an emergency medical license suspension of an Indiana physician. Dr. Phillip D. Foley of Middletown, Indiana received a 90-day suspension after Indiana’s attorney general accused him of recklessly prescribing narcotics and sedatives. The state petition against Foley accuses him of at least nine overdose deaths.

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August 20, 2009

Indiana Medical Error Report Released

medical%20error%20report.jpgThe Annual Indiana Medical Error Report outlines errors and events suffered by Indiana patients over the reported year. Its release provides Indiana patients an opportunity to scrutinize care they are receiving at local hospitals.

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