Hospital Medical Errors

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Medical mishaps occur more often than people may believe. According to John Bonifield from CNN, Medical errors kill more than 250,000 people in the United States yearly. Due to this large number of deaths relating to medical errors, hospitals and organizations are working together to lower the high number of mishaps. “Awareness about the problem has increased, but we clearly have to do more to get a lot closer to zero,” said Mark Chassin, President of the Joint Commission. The statistics of medical errors prove that mistakes are happening more often than they should. Often, individuals believe that these tragedies will not occur to him or her. Reviewing the statistics of various doctor rules and surgery reviews will help understand the level of seriousness our hospitals have reached. Through an understanding of the causes of medical errors, the frequency of medical mishaps will decrease. Common medical errors include: 1. Treating the wrong patient 2. Tools left behind from surgery 3. Long waits in the emergency room 4. Wrong-site surgery 5.Waking up during surgery Every year, nearly 2.5 million people go under the knife unnecessarily, often with devastating results (Guthrie 164-201). Unnecessary surgery is often performed when further research by the patient is not executed. If an individual experiences back pain, the immediate answer should not be surgery unless various tests have shown that surgery needs to take place. Many Americans place much trust within their doctors to always make the right decision. We must remember that doctors are humans too and are capable of making mistakes. The number of questions between a patient and a doctor can never become too many. Unnecessary surgery does not only cause problems ... ... middle of paper ... ...Catherine. "Operating BLIND." Prevention 59.8 (2007): 164-201. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. Hettiaratchy, Shehan. "Uses Of Error: Surgical Mistakes." Lancet 358.9285 (2001): 887. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. J.F.L. "Guiding The Knife." Pediatrics 90.6 (1992): 949. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. Levin, Arthur A. "Unsafe Doctor Training Continues." Healthfacts 31.10 (2006): 4. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. P.R., and Sari Harrar. "LEFT BEHIND Surgical Tools." Prevention 55.6 (2003): 163. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. Woolf, Steven H., et al. "A String Of Mistakes: The Importance Of Cascade Analysis In Describing, Counting, And Preventing Medical Errors." Annals Of Family Medicine 2.4 (2004): 317-326. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.

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