Okay, so the patient is confident his surgery is necessary and surgeon Dr. Carl Cutter is the best around to ensure a successful operation. Frankly, in my opinion, those choices are the easy part. Hospitalization, particularly if more than a night or two, should scream DANGER. DANGER. So much can go wrong – including death – if you aren’t your own best advocate or, if unable to do so yourself, be sure someone watchful is with you all the time. (I’ve urged this advocacy in the past, based upon a number of personal experiences and statistical information.)
Research has confirmed that 440,000 people die every year because of preventable medical errors. That is equivalent to almost the entire population of Atlanta dying from a medical error each year. Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States and cost our country tens of billions of dollars a year.
Ellen Phillips A medical error can be mistaken diagnoses, foreign objects left in the body, botched surgeries of any type, or any number of other atrocious mistakes. For our purposes, though, let’s stick to the worst enemy of hospital patients – infections. The very professionals who care for you and even about you often are the guilty parties, usually through being rushed or caring for too many patients per nurse. (I’ve always declared teachers and nurses are the most underpaid, overworked professionals, yet where would people be without them). If hospitals infect a person, they aren’t necessarily on the hook to pay you (or your family if the error leads to your death). To help avoid senseless mistakes/actions and to push for technology already in the works as preventable methods, I suggest the following:
» Become a lobbyist for solutions. Healthcare providers must take responsibility. It’s not fair for Medicare (taxpayer funded) to eat such a huge portion of these bills, except in instances when the hospital is blatantly in the wrong, such as when an operating-room instrument is left inside a patient during surgery. A prime illustration on what to do comes from Johns Hopkin University Medical School, whereby their researchers think Medicare and private insurance companies should refuse to pay for all hospital-acquired infections. Consumers are urged to contact their elected officials, telling them you don’t think doctors and hospitals should see any financial gain from infecting patients with deadly conditions.
» Ask questions. All states don’t require hospitals to report infection rates. On the other hand, ask your state’s health department or the hospital itself for that information before you have an elective procedure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health Safety Network is another resource for the information. Based on what you find out, don’t be hesitant to shop around. Ask if your choice of hospital practices the “bundle” system, a series of evidence-based preventive strategies that, when taken together, can greatly reduce infection rates, says Stephen Streed, MS, CIC, board member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.