Dr Safety

Flu season is here! It is not too late! Patients give many reasons for not getting their annual flu shot, including — “It causes the flu"; "I don’t need it"; "It has side effects"; "It’s not effective"; "I didn’t think about it"; "I don’t like needles!” The fact is that every year in the United States about 36,000 people die from influenza. Greater than 90 percent of these deaths occur in individuals 65 years of age and older. You can help yourself overcome these odds and their personal barriers through education. Protect yourself, your family and friends. Get Your Flu Shot – Not the Flu.

Today's entry is adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention... Many people are prescribed antibiotics without good reason. This may lead to resistance of bacteria, overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the gut, and possibly even death. Taking medications unnecessarily exposes one to the harmful side effects and drug-drug interactions of these medications without the benefit. The CDC is trying to prevent these problems by educating patients and physicians regarding the proper use of antibiotics. Next time your doctor prescribes an antibiotic ask questions like: What disease/infection are treating me for? Is there a clinical guideline you are following? Is my infection actually bacterial? What can I do to prevent antibiotic associated diarrhea? How do I take this medicine safely? Will it interact with my current medications? What are the side effects I can expect? From CDC: "Upper respiratory infections account for three quarters of all antibiotics prescribed by off

A moment of silence for those victims of the 9-11 attacks on the USA in 2001. May we never forget the price we pay for our freedom. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families. Take a moment today to remember those who have died in the service of our country in the War on Terror.

There is much written about America's "best" hospitals and doctors. Entire national magazine issues are dedicated to such proclamations. Whole industries have popped up to measure "quality." So much in fact that one would think everyone knows what "best" means. What is quality? In fact, when pressed, many physicians and nurses haven't a clue as to what metrics go into assessing the quality of care delivered by their hospital. Many will seize upon the catch phrase, "evidence based medicine" and claim that it is the best docs and centers that practice this. Of course one next must define what is meant by evidence based care and we are often met with blank stares. Please do not mention that over 40% of patients do not receive the recommended care due them. And of course there are those pesky 15 million episodes of patient harm that must be happening at some of these best hospitals with some of these best doctors...98,000 people [at least] di

When the Institute of Medicine estimated that 98,000 Americans die every year from medical errors, shock waves went through our healthcare system. Many in the field claimed that the estimate was faulty and full of hyperbole. Eight or nine years later we know that the number was indeed flawed...way off. We now know that there are 15,000,000 episodes of patient harm annually in our hospitals. That is correct - 15 million times every year someone is hurt by a medical procedure, or the wrong medicine, or the wrong diagnosis. 99,000 people die from healthcare associated infections alone every 12 months. Now add in the patients who die from medication errors and drug interactions, misdiagnoses, failure to rescue, falls in the hospital, and pressure ulcers... The data is staggering. Many more than 98,000 die each year...many more. Perhaps the sixth leading cause of death in America. What can we do? How can you make a difference? How does one protect one's family? Stand up for yourself. Sp

It cannot be emphasized enough how important hand hygiene is to quality healthcare. In our last post we spoke about the 99,000 people who die every year from healthcare associated infections. Failure to clean one's hands before and after patient care is usually at the center of most of these cases. Patients and their families must speak up and demand that doctors and nurses stop and wash their hands prior to examining them or performing other procedures. Infections caused by staph and clostridium difficile are rampant in our hospitals - yet usually preventable if hospital staff, visitors and yes, even patients, wash their hands. It sounds obsessive but the problem is too serious to be taken lightly. Gloves are not a substitute for cleaning one's hands. Hands must be cleaned prior to and after wearing gloves. We all learned to wash our hands prior to eating and after using the bathroom, yet our healthcare workers must be reminded of this fact in America's hospitals. Do not l

1,700,000 people are afflicted with healthcare associated infections every year in the United States. 99,000 of those Americans die due to these mostly preventable infections. Of the 1.7 million people infected secondary to their healthcare, 562,000 people are diagnosed with healthcare associated urinary tract infections (uti) annually. This represents 32% of all healthcare associated infections, making uti one of the most common hospital acquired conditions. Over 80% of these patients have had a urinary catheter that has preceded the infection. The Centers for Disease Control [CDC] predicts that the rate of uti is 100% for hospital inpatients with an open indwelling urinary catheter for 4 days or more. Adherence to the proper asceptic precautions when inserting the catheter and maintenance of the closed system of drainage may reduce the infection rate to 25%. However, this risk is still high and it is important to use urinary catheters only when medically indicated. The CDC recommends

How many have suffered with a loved one over a poor healthcare outcome? The last time you were admitted to the hospital was the care what you expected? Were you satisfied? Are you the pilot of your own health? Or the passenger in a sinking ship? Those who have studied patient safety understand that humans will make mistakes. The secret to success involves protecting patients from those mistakes and preventing harm. Do good nurses make good hospitals? ...or is it the other way around? Please post your responses and open our dialogue...Thank you.

What is quality medical care? How will I know if I am getting great care or not? We hope to answer some of these questions for you here. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we try to help you figure out what is quality and what isn't!