20 tips to help prevent medical errors
September 7, 2010This is a patient fact sheet to help you with your doctors appointments so your doctor has a clear understanding of everything when you have an appointment with them. Often times doctors can be unaware of symptoms or if you started a new medication regimen. It especially becomes complicated when you are seeing multiple doctors, going to more than one clinic, or in the hospital under the care of a new physician. Click this fact sheet to get help to keep organized and be better armed to face each doctor when you are living with this serious chronic illness. Taking those extra steps can prevent a tragic medical error, so be vigilant for your own health care. You are your best advocate.
“We’ve all heard that we have to learn from our mistakes, but I think it’s more important to learn from successes. If you learn only from your mistakes, you are inclined to learn only errors.” ~Norman Vincent Peale
~Nadia
QUESTION: HAVE YOU HAD ENCOUNTERS WHERE AN ERROR WAS MADE IN YOUR TREATMENT OR YOU HAVE PREVENTED AN ERROR FROM BEING MADE? (CAUGHT AN ERROR AND BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF YOUR DOCTOR OR NURSE) SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE!
Too many times to count. One time they were giving me my Pentasa. The pill looked different then the 250 mg pills I had at home. She said it scanned as 250 mg. I asked her to double check. They were 500 mg pills. I don’t know if it would have hurt me taking double the dose I was use to but I’m glad I did not have to find out.
Another time before I had all these crohn’s problems, I was in overnight for observation for chest pains. It was probably related to a gallstone diagnosed later. Anyway, they woke me up in the middle of the night, gave me a pill. I was in a deep sleep so I did not question this like I would have. I woke up in the morning with diarrea. It was a pill for another patient that was having a colonoscopy the next day! They cleaned me out by mistake. I was pretty angry.
I could go on and on unfortunately with other problems. No matter how ill you are you have to pay attention to what the doctors and nurses are doing. You cannot just hand yourself over to their care and hope for the best.
Another one I mentioned on the blog about blockages. I almost had my appendix taken out. This is something all crohn’s patients need to watch out for. It is a very common mistake. The OR was ready for me. Another surgeon stopped it thank GOD.