Archive for the ‘hospital negligence’ Category

Medication adherence, which is really the extent to which patients take medication as prescribed by their doctors, is important to the medication’s effectiveness to cure and treat the particular illness.  Poor medication adherence can have a particularly negative impact on the medication’s ability to treat many diseases, causing more severe complications from the illness and decreased quality of life for patients.   Many factors cause poor adherence; the most common ones being the inability to pay for medications, lack of belief that the treatment is necessary or helping, busy schedules, forgetfulness, and confusion about how and when to take the medication.

The Food Drug Administration recently published an article on its website, which discusses the importance of medication adherence and provides tips on how to take different types of medication correctly.  For example, when taking antibiotics, the FDA warns strict medication adherence is vital.  If antibiotics are not taken as prescribed by the doctor, a small number of bacteria is likely to survive and continue to replicate and become resistant to the antibiotics.  The same reasoning goes for the HIV virus.  When patients with AIDS skip or stop taking their prescribed medication, they might develop strains of HIV that are more resistant to the prescribed medication and even some medications that patients aren’t currently on.

The FDA advises people to communicate with their doctors or pharmacists if they are experiencing side effects of their prescribed medication and understand how long they need to take the medication.  Setting a daily routine to take medication, keeping medications in noticeable places, using daily dosing containers, and keeping written or computerized schedules are all good ways to help people remember to take their medication.

Ultimately, if there is ever an issue of negligence, consumers want to make sure it is medical negligence outside of their control and not negligence of their own.  Making sure you properly take medications, at least according to the FDA, is an important consumer health issue.

The NYT reported that an official with the White House stated that President Obama told the American Medical Assocation (“AMA”) that he would support medical malpractice reform if the AMA supported the President’s health-care reform bill.  On June 15, President Obama addressed the AMA and made statements about medical malpractice reforms, suggesting he supports reforms, not caps on recoveries, but it still unclear what type of medical malpractice reform he supports.  In response, to that address, the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), which works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others–even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations.
 
The following is a statement from American Association for Justice President Les Weisbrod regarding President Obama’s address to the American Medical Association:
 
“It’s clear America’s health care system is in crisis.  Over 40 million people are without health insurance and costs are skyrocketing.  President Obama is right that health care reform is needed now and patient safety should be the top priority.
 
“Empirically-based practice guidelines, developed by independent experts, is an idea we can support, as long as it does not lower quality or standards of care.  Instead, these guidelines should lead to greater patient safety.
 
“According to the Institute of Medicine, 98,000 people die every year because of medical errors.  Eliminating these errors, not further hurting the victims of negligence, is where lawmakers should focus their attention.  By taking away the rights of people to hold wrongdoers accountable, the quality of health care will suffer tremendously.
 
“However, the notion that ‘defensive medicine’ is leading to higher health care costs is not supported by empirical data or academic literature.  Recent news reports, CBO and GAO analyses, and statements from administration officials have shown that physicians will over-test and over-treat purely for financial reasons, unrelated to liability concerns.
 
“Limiting the legal rights of injured patients will do nothing to lower health care costs or aid the uninsured.  We will work over the coming weeks and months to educate members of Congress and the administration on how to best protect victims of medical negligence.”
 
AAJ has developed a primer on medical negligence and the role of the civil justice system in the current health care debate.  The primer can be located at www.justice.org/medicalnegligence.  Information is also available on this site about New York medical malpractice.

Clearly one of the big agenda items for the Obama administration is health care reform.  Universal health care is definitely a good thing and long over due in this country.  But, for a consumer injured by medical negligence, what does health care reform mean? 

The White House had made clear that it would like to get a reform bill passed in Congress before the end of this session in August.  Whether the White House can achieve this is questionable and will required broad reaching support from various contingencies, including the American Medical Association (AMA).  So, what promises, if any, is the White House making to the AMA about medical malpractice reform, which is a big issue for the AMA (the website has Obama and his speech featured on its home page this morning), despite studies showing that medical malpractice reform has little or no impact on health care costs?

The New York Times reported earlier this week that insders at the Obama White House state that Obama has told the American Medical Association (”AMA”) that he supports malpractice reforms.  On June 15, 2009, Obama opened his drive for health care reform by speaking to the AMA.  During his speech, he stated:

“Now, I recognize that it will be hard to make some of these changes if doctors feel like they’re constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of lawsuits. I recognize that.

(APPLAUSE)

Don’t get too excited yet.

(APPLAUSE)

All right. Now, I understand some doctors may feel the need to order more tests and treatments to avoid being legally vulnerable. That’s a real issue.

Now, you know, just hold onto your horses here, guys.

(LAUGHTER)

I want to be honest with you. I’m not advocating caps on malpractice awards…

(BOOING)

… which I believe — I personally believe can be unfair to people who’ve been wrongfully harmed.

But I do think we need to explore a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first, how to let doctors focus on practicing medicine, how to encourage broader use of evidence-based guidelines. I want to work with the AMA so we can scale back the excessive defensive medicine that reinforces our current system and shift to a system where we are providing better care simply — rather than simply more treatment.

So this is going to be a priority for me. And I know, you know, based on your responses, it’s a priority for you.

(LAUGHTER)

And I look forward to working with you, and it’s going to be difficult. But all this stuff is going to be difficult. All of it’s going to be important.”  See Obama AMA Speech Transcript.

So far this is the only public statement by Obama about malpractice reform.  His views seem consistent with what his views were as a Senator, which is a good thing for consumers who are injured by medical negligence.  Medical groups, however, have already expressed disappointment in his statement but we hope that the White House will stand strong for consumer rights, especially in the face of considerable evidence from studies that show that malpractice reforms do not reduce the costs of healthcare in the United States.

If you visit a relative or friend in the hospital but are asked to leave because “visiting hours” are over, can you trust that the hospital workers will monitor and administer the utmost care and attention to your loved one? 

Disturbingly, the answer is no.  According to the AARP, an estimated 98,000 hospital patients die every year in the United States because of preventable errors, such as mistaken identity or medication mixups.  There have been many cases where a patient has been harmed because of mislabeling on a medication or on the patient chart that leads to the incorrect medication being administered.  Or perhaps the hospital staff simply may not notice when a patient is in pain or is in need of assistance – while the nurses have many patients they must tend to, a relative remaining by the bedside might notice something such as an adverse reaction to medication or an IV drip that had pulled out of a vein, or even something less specific.  Merely noting that the patient “doesn’t look so good” might prompt a doctor or a nurse to take a closer look – it might be nothing, but it might mean preventing the patient’s condition from worsening.  A simple mixup could have the nurses administering a test or an injection that may be meant for the patient on the next hospital bed.  Such errors could be prevented by instituting unlimited visiting hours, as some hospitals have, allowing relatives and friends to stay with the patient through medical procedures and even during some emergencies, sharing their observations and concerns.

Human beings make mistakes, and doctors and nurses are human beings.  But the price of not taking every available precaution with such preventable errors can be catastrophic in certain cases, and the suffering caused to patients and their loved ones may be immeasurable.  People should not hesitate to voice their concerns regarding the care of loved ones in the hospital.  Though it may seem to be stepping on the toes of the doctors and nurses, the possible outcome of a preventable error could be disastrous.  Karen Aydt Curtiss, who is writing a book on how to help a loved one in the hospital, titled “Someone With You,” makes some suggestions such as asking nurses about new medications, ensuring the drug orders match the patient’s ID bracelet, asking everyone who enters the room to wash their hands and sterilize any equipment, and keeping a journal of your observations.

Patients should not have to pay the price for these preventable errors.  If you or a loved one has suffered from such errors, you should contact a New York Medical Malpractice attorney today to discuss your legal rights and options.

At the Consumerinjurylawyers.com blog, we wish to make consumers aware of helpful resources that will protect and inform them before they undergo medical care. Additionally, those who feel that they have suffered harm due to medical malpractice need to be informed of consumer-driven outlets that will educate patients on possible recourses. Patients are no longer helpless regarding hospital safety resources, thanks to the work of several victims of medical malpractice. These survivors and family members have taken to the Internet to inform potential patients on possible indicators of medical errors and counsel others suffering due to medical malpractice. This patient-initiated grassroots safety movement has already had a profound impact on hospital safety policy by encouraging doctors to be aware, cautious, and upfront regarding patient care.

Often in taking the form of online communities and blogs, patient-created hospital safety resources provide comradery, medical, and legal advice on avoiding and treating medical error. Blogs such as josieking.com, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, patientadvocare.blogspot.com, and Persons United Limiting Substandards and Errors in Health Care, were started by people who have lost loved ones or themselves been injured by substandard health care. One in 10 patients admitted to hospitals world-wide will suffer some type of preventable harm. These patient safety blogs aim to lower that number through their support.

Patient advocates encourage consumers to choose doctors with electronic medical recording systems, pick physicians that do specialized operations frequently rather than sporadically, and go to hospitals whose spiritual beliefs are in line with the patient’s. Parents of hospitalized children should specify requests for their child’s surgeries in writing, and ask the doctor to sign the written request. After obtaining care, hospital safety blogs request that patients see their primary care providers immediately after being discharged from the hospital. These seemingly simple, but important, requests could be crucial in preventing and detecting medical malpractice, and aiding in malpractice litigation.

Such hospital safety resources are beneficial to a broader audience than just patients. Patient-safety movements also provide tips for medical practitioners to improve safety, which could ultimately save physicians billions of dollars in additional hospitalization, litigation claims, and medical expenses. Because programs can be so financially beneficial to care providers, doctors have internalized the suggestions of patient safety advocates. The New York Times has reported that hospitals who end a “defend and deny” policy can drastically reduce lawsuits, and in the process, prevent patients from baring the emotional and financial cost of medical mistakes.

But medical malpractice is still prevalent, and patients must keep themselves informed in order to prevent and receive compensation for medical malpractice. Consumers should look at consumer safety resources before their loved ones or they undergo medical care, and especially if they notice any red flags during treatment. To obtain further information on a New York medical malpractice lawyer, to investigate a possible malpractice claim, please contact us.