sysadmin
July 7th, 2004, 20:09
This editorial from the British Medical Journal discusses the risks of healthcare. The author lists several examples of how patients get hurt by medical treatment. For example, he states that patients being admitted to the hospital have a 10% chance of an adverse event, and a 1% chance of dying as a result. COMMENT: this is an important read for healthcare providers, and their patients! See the previous article in this blog for documentation from the Annals of Internal Medicine of physician non-compliance with basic, fundamental hygiene practices that we know to be vitally important in this age of antibiotic resistant infections.
I believe that having a family member or friend watch closely over the care of a loved one when they are hospitalized can be very helpful (it certainly is from my perspective as a doctor). A lot of medicine is simply common sense. Having an observant family member or friend accompany you when you are hospitalized can help prevent mistakes. However, it is important to work cooperatively with the nurses and physicians and other providers. In general, they are doing their best. A positive attitude of cooperation, confidence, and vigilence can help reassure the patient (your family member or friend) and thus help them get better faster.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7456/0-g
BMJ 2004;329 (3 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7456.0-g
I believe that having a family member or friend watch closely over the care of a loved one when they are hospitalized can be very helpful (it certainly is from my perspective as a doctor). A lot of medicine is simply common sense. Having an observant family member or friend accompany you when you are hospitalized can help prevent mistakes. However, it is important to work cooperatively with the nurses and physicians and other providers. In general, they are doing their best. A positive attitude of cooperation, confidence, and vigilence can help reassure the patient (your family member or friend) and thus help them get better faster.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7456/0-g
BMJ 2004;329 (3 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7456.0-g