Medical errors repeatedly take place when doctors do not have all the appropriate information on the patient that they need.
Instead of assuming your doctor knows everything about you make sure to update them each year with your medications, symptoms, vitamins, allergies, herbal supplements, any reactions to substances and most importantly your complete medical history. Ask questions about medications that you are prescribed, have your doctor write prescriptions legibly to steer clear of mistakes at the pharmacy and make sure your doctor or pharmacist gives you written information about potential side effects.
Read a few more tips over at Everyday Health.
Related Posts:
Previous post: Diabetes: what you should know
Next post: Testosterone Deficiency or something else?
{ 1 trackback }
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Yes, it is certainly true that a percentage of medical errors occur in part, because patients – even the brightest & most literate of us – are quite often poor communicators; weak historians; and often lack the assertivness in the clinical environment which is necessary to ensure quality care.
But even cursory research clearly underscores two other matters at the root of a much larger volume of adverse outcomes: Undisciplined physician handwriting on charts & prescriptions – which kills 18 patients every day of the year – and is absolutely shameful. And, the lack of the ‘peer review’ process to result in – among other things – the weeding out the medical miscreants who ought not be involved in patient care at all.
In a Harvard study in 2008, 1600 physicians were asked the following question:
“How often do you see incompetency among your peers that could result in negative outcomes?”
Of those MDs who answered, 60% reported they witnessed peer incompetency at least once per month.
And how many spoke up about it?
1%.
There is no doubt that Americans need to be better patients. But the fact that so many otherwise quality doctors ignore their oath, and turn a blind eye to the dangerous MDs among them – speaks to a far greater problem.
Over the past 25 years, the National Practitioner Data Bank has collected files on 237,000 doctors considered by the Health Research Group, to be either “Dangerous” or “Questionable.” But they almost always return to practice.
The only aspect of this discussion that flies more in the face of basic human morality than bad physicians in the midst of good ones, is the fact that they are silently tolerated, and allowed to continue enormous damage to society, by physicians who otherwise deserve our respect.