medical errors

Published on: September 15, 2020

Lower Quality of Patient Care is a Concern with Telemedicine

As the pandemic began spreading across Georgia, many doctors chose to move their practices online. However, many health professionals will admit that the quality of medical care is likely to be lower with telemedicine.

The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed doctors into adopting telemedicine at a speed that would have been unthinkable before the outbreak. With patient numbers overflowing, hospitals were stretched to their maximum capacities. Georgia’s shelter-in-place orders also meant that many patients who needed to see doctors were no longer able to visit their doctors for office consultations.

Many physicians quickly moved their practices online in order to help deal with patient concerns. Many of these doctors, however, would also be the first to admit that the quality of care with telemedicine is simply not at par with the kind of quality that patient could expect in a face-to-face setting.

Published on: February 16, 2020

More Tech Advances in Medicine Also Means More Medical Error Risks

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The widening use of technology in the health care sector has generally meant safer experiences for patients, but it also comes with a greater likelihood of errors related to these technologies.

Most of us have been to a doctor’s appointment recently where we’ve seen the doctor or nurse typing notes into a computer during the visit. Electronic health records are now standard in American hospitals. However, staff and especially doctors have been vocal about how difficult these systems are to use. Doctors especially find that patient medical histories are sometimes not updated on the system, and this can cause any number of serious errors to occur. Oftentimes, these systems are full of unfixed bugs that fail to inform of potentially dangerous drug alerts or medication warnings.

The Institute of Safe Medication Providers recently released its most prevalent error list for 2019. The results revealed that healthcare providers are now increasingly making mistakes by selecting the first option that pops up on their screens after typing in the first few letters of a medication’s name. This problem is even more severe on smaller screens, like those of a mobile phone or a tablet. Sometimes, the wrong medication is selected, leading to possibly grave consequences.

Published on: December 14, 2019

Depressed Doctors at Higher Risk of Medical Errors

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Depression affects millions of people in the U.S. Depression can sometimes be caused by life events such as job burn-out. When a doctor suffers from burnout-related depression, a patient’s safety may be compromised.

According to the results of a new study, doctors who are depressed may be at a higher risk of making medical errors that threaten patient safety. The study which was published recently in the JAMA Network Open, finds that depressed doctors are more likely to report medical errors. The study also finds that these medical errors actually increase the risk of the doctor committing even more serious errors in the future. These medical errors can result in a medical malpractice claim.

Several earlier studies have indicated that physicians are at a high risk of mental problems, like depression, due to a number of factors. Physician burnout is a very real phenomenon, and can be linked to heavy caseloads, stressful work environments and high pressure challenges that can lead to feelings of irritability, lack of morale and motivation and feelings of hopelessness. Many studies have pointed to certain fields of medicine that are more prone to high stress levels, like oncology and surgery.

Published on: July 31, 2019

Misdiagnosis is a Leading Cause of Medical Errors

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When you go to a doctor for an illness, one of the basic assumptions you may have is that the physician will be able to correctly diagnose your condition and provide treatment. However, misdiagnosis or wrong diagnosis is one of the leading causes of medical errors. In fact, a new Johns Hopkins study confirms that wrong diagnoses, especially those related to the three most commonly misdiagnosed conditions, are a serious health concern in the United Sates.

The results of the study were published recently and confirm that a wrong diagnosis, or incorrect diagnosis, is the No. 1 cause of medical errors. The researchers attempted to identify the diseases that were involved in the majority of medical malpractice clams. The data was based on malpractice cases from between 2006 and 2015.

The researchers concluded that as many as 75 percent of diagnostic error cases involved the Big Three – vascular events, infections and cancer.

Published on: July 14, 2018

Greater Risk of Childbirth Injuries, Errors during Weekends

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to a recent report by America’s Health Rankings, Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. Other studies have found that women who are admitted into a hospital on a weekend for delivery have a greater risk of suffering complications and injuries compared to the rest of the week. According to these studies, maternal complication risks are highest during weekends, holidays and during night shifts when compared to weekday or day time births.

The results of the study are concerning, but not exactly surprising. Researchers have also found that there is a combination of several factors that can impact safety risks for patients admitted into the hospital during these risky times for a variety of conditions. For example, earlier studies have found that cardiac patients admitted into the hospital on weekends have a higher risk of complications or reduced care that impacts their survival risks. In 2016, a study published in the BMJ Quality and Safety found that heart attack survival odds for patients who were admitted into the hospital on weekends and night times were considerably reduced.

A major factor that impacts the quality of care when pregnant women are admitted into the hospital on weekends or on night times is reduced staffing. There are fewer staff members on duty during weekends and on holidays, and that can increase pressure on staff members which in turn reduces the quality of care. Night shifts also see a lower nurse-to-patient ratio which can impact the reading of test results or monitoring of the patient. In the case of a pregnant woman awaiting delivery, lower staffing ratios mean that critical foetal cardiac rate monitoring may be irregular, leading to maternal and foetal health complications.

Published on: January 25, 2018

Stress is a Major Factor in Emergency Room Medical Errors

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Medical errors are one the leading causes of death in the United States, and accounts for about 250,000 deaths per year. That number is almost half the population of the City of Atlanta. In fact, it is estimated that about one third of the people admitted to a hospital will fall victim to a medical error.

Stressed-out doctors are at a great risk of making errors in the emergency room where even the smallest error can translate into a fatal mistake. Managing stress effectively is critical to reducing these risks.

A new study by the BMJ Open finds that the risk of errors increases with the stress level of doctors in the emergency room. In the study, researchers obtained blood and saliva samples of 20 residents working in an emergency room. They analyzed the samples which were obtained both before and after the emergency room shifts to understand the stress levels of the doctors. They also questioned the doctors about the number of patients they treated, the number of errors made, and the number of “near-miss” incidents they experienced. A “near-miss” incident was defined as an act of omission that could possibly cause harm to patients.

Published on: July 8, 2016

Medical Errors Third Leading Cause of Death in United States

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Medical errors rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer as a leading cause of death in the United States. Those findings come from a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

According to the study, patients who suffer injuries as the result of a medical error are much more likely to die, compared to persons who suffer from respiratory diseases like bronchitis and emphysema. The tragedy is that people may take precautions in order to prevent contracting bronchitis and emphysema, or any other diseases that could result in death, but may not realize that they have a much higher chance of dying from a medical error.

The study estimates that more than 250,000 U.S. deaths every year can be traced to medical errors. There are a number of medical errors that could injure or kill a patient. Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, overmedication and other types of medical errors are often serious enough to cause a patient’s death.

Published on: January 24, 2012

Distracted Medical Professionals Are a Patient Safety Risk and result in Medical Malpractice Claims

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Doctors and nurses now have access to smart phones and other gadgets that help them in their work.Doctors can refer to smart phones to easily access the Internet, or access patient data.However, the increasing use of electronic communication devices in hospitals has also meant an increasing number of distractions that could possibly harm patients. A significant number of medical malpractice claims arise out of a failure of medical professionals to closely monitor a patient’s condition. All medical malpractice attorneys have seen incidents in which a doctor who is very competent misses a change in a patient’s condition that, while easily addressed if caught early, results in catastrophic problems when left unchecked. It appears clear now that some of the incidents are likely the result of distractions caused by electronic devices.

According to this report, the risk of distractions from the use of electronic gadgets is so great that many hospitals have begun to limit their use altogether.Medical schools have also begun teaching students to focus on caring for patients, instead of relying on devices.However, the fact is that more and more medical students now are armed with devices that equip them with information that can increase patient safety.These measures have come after a number of incidents reported from around the country in which doctors, nurses, technicians and other personnel were found to be distracted using their devices for personal uses.

In one incident, a nurse was found researching airline fares during a spinal surgery procedure.Doctors have also been found using their cell phones to have personal conversations while performing procedures.Needless to say, none of this enhances patient safety, and actually increases the risks of medical errors.The Institute of Medicine in its path breaking report To Err Is Human in 1999, found that more than 90,000 patients die every year as a result of medical errors.Hospitals have been investing in reducing medical errors, and unfortunately, electronic gadgets seem to increase those risks.

Published on: May 5, 2009

Georgia Ranked on List of States with Poor Doctor Discipline

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new report by non-profit organization Public Citizen has placed Georgia on the list of ten worst states based on doctor discipline records. The report takes into consideration the numbers of disciplinary actions taken by the state’s boards of medical examiners against negligent physicians. In Georgia, the rate of actions against such doctors is a dismal 2.40 actions for every 1,000 physicians. The state is tenth on the list following Minnesota with a paltry .95 actions per 1,000 doctors, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Connecticut, New Hampshire Maryland, Florida and California.

Not only that, Georgia is also specially marked for criticism as one of the states with the largest decrease in rank for disciplinary action rates. Between 2001 and 20003, the state was at number 15 on the list, while it has dropped to number 42 in this year’s report.

Georgia should take a page out of the book of fellow southern states like Kentucky and Louisiana, each of which features in the ten best states for serious disciplinary actions against doctors. That list also includes Alaska where 6.54 serious disciplinary actions were taken for every 1,000 doctors, Kentucky with 5.87 disciplinary actions, Louisiana with 4.74 actions besides Ohio, Arizona, Okalahoma, North Dakota, Iowa, Colorado and Maine.

Published on: April 25, 2009

Augusta Patient Among HIV Positive After Medical Errors at VA Hospital

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Department of Veteran Affairs has confirmed that three patients who were tested at three of its facilities have tested positive for the HIV virus, including one patient from Augusta, Georgia. The two other patients are reportedly from Murfreesboro in Tennessee and Miami.

These patients got tested for HIV after the Veteran Affairs Department asked more than 10,000 people to get tested for HIV, and Hepatitis B and C because of the risk of contamination from tainted endoscopic equipment. The equipment was used in colonoscopies in Murfreesboro and Miami, and also at an ENT clinic in Augusta. Besides, the department has also confirmed that six people have tested positive for hepatitis B, and nineteen have tested positive for Hepatitis C at these three sites. The VA however does not have evidence that these exposures occurred because of botched medical procedures at the VA facilities.

The problem apparently lay in faulty sterilization of equipment, and dates back more than 5 years, at least at the Miami and Murfressboro hospitals. The agency undertook a nationwide safety training campaign which ended on March 14^th. By April 3^rd, the VA had already confirmed that one person had tested positive for HIV. According to the VA, the number of people who may be at “a very small risk of harm” at the ENT facility in Augusta, is 1,069. The agency has made arrangements for veterans who have tested positive for the disease to receive counseling. There is no information forthcoming on how serious the problem is. Meanwhile, anxious veterans who have used Augusta facilities are waiting their test results.