A new survey has found that quite a few of us have been victimized by medical errors. As a patient in several hospitals, undergoing a myriad of treatments and surgeries, I’ve been only too aware how vulnerable I was to accidental malfeasance on the part of my doctors.
The study, completed by Wolters Kluwer Health, found that almost a third of those living in the U.S. has either themselves or a friend or family member been hurt by a medical mistake, from something as potentially life-threatening as being given the wrong medication, dosage or treatment to having an x-ray read wrong.
Even more frightening: more than one in five Americans said they had been misdiagnosed by their doctor. Due to my own persistence, a second cancer was found by another doctor, after being overlooked by my oncologist.
And a whopping 73 percent feel some anxiety about medical errors and nearly half, 45 percent, report being “very concerned,” according to a press release distributed by Wolters Kluwer Health.
Not surprisingly, 76 percent of the respondents who expressed concern were women, although men aren’t far behind, at 68 percent.
But there is some good news, the study found, and it’s that Americans have confidence in technology to help reduce mistakes. “The majority, 68 percent, believe that as the medical field continues to adopt new technologies, medical errors should decrease,” according to a recent statement.
“What is clear from survey findings is that there is a high level of concern among American consumers about medical mistakes, which could impact the doctor-patient relationship as well as how consumers approach their own healthcare,” said Dr. Linda Peitzman, chief medical officer at Wolters Kluwer Health. “Clinical decision support tools can play a significant role in reducing instances of medical errors and improving communication among parties involved in a patient’s care.”
“Studies have shown that hospitals that adopt certain clinical decision support systems experience shorter hospital lengths of stay, reduced mortality rates and overall improvements in quality of care,” she added.
Clinical decision support, which sounds a lot more complicated than it is, is making health-related decisions about patient care after combining clinical knowledge and patient information, then analyzing it to improve health and healthcare delivery.
Electronic health records are essential to this concept, as they assemble in one place all information about a patient, in a way that can be shared and used by other clinicians in diagnosis, and deciding on treatments.
Edited by
Braden Becker
