How To Apologize Effectively For Medical Errors

How To Apologize Effectively For Medical Errors by Richard G. Boothman.  Healio.  Mary 14, 2019. 

Misdiagnosis: Physical Conditions Mistaked For Mental Conditions

'Widespread And Dangerous':  Facing Medical Uncertainty Some Doctors Tell Patients It's All In Their Heads by Elizabeth Cohen.  CNN.  December 25, 2018. 

Doctor Burnout And Medical Errors

Doctor Burnout Behind Many Medical Errors, Study Finds by Alan Mozes.  Healthday/CBS.  July 10, 2018.,  

F.D.A Targets Inaccurate Medical Tests; Unnecessary, Costly And Dangerous Treatments May Result; Effort To Personalize Medicine Endangered

F.D.A. Targets Inaccurate Medical Tests, Citing Dangers And Costs by Robert Pear.  The New York Times.  November 23, 2015. 

Patient Role In Preventing Diagnostic Errors: Resources And Roles

Leslie Michelson's Checklist For Avoiding Diagnostic Errors--The KHN Conversation by Julie Appleby

Teamwork And Patient Involvement Viewed As Key To Reducing Diagnostic Errors

IOM:  Teamwork Key To Reducing Medical Diagnostic Errors by Julie Appleby.  Kaiser Health News.  September 22, 2015. 

At Least One Diagnostic Error In A Lifetime; Misdiagnoses Leading To Harm May Be Up To 160,000

Most Americans Will Experience At Least 1 Diagnostic Error:  Report by E. J. Mundell.  U. S. News.  September 22, 2015. 

Out-Of-Hospital Medication Errors Common; Most Common--Administering Dosage Twice

Medication Errors Occur Every 8 Minutes In U.S. Children by Tara Haelle.  HealthDay.  October 20, 2014.

Release Of Ebola Patient Becomes More Questionable In Light Of Fever, Incorrect Accounts, And Contradictions

Ebola Patient Sent Home Despite Fever, Records Show by Manny Fernandez and Kevin Sack.

15 Diseases Doctors Often Get Wrong; Often Inflammation Is Involved

15 Diseases  Doctors Often Get Wrong.  Health Com/yahoo.com.  July 29, 2014.

With Preventable Patient Harm The Third Leading Cause of Death In the U.S. Experts Call For Public Reporting Of Harms

Health Safety Experts Call For Public Reporting Of Medical Harms by Marshall Allen.  NPR.  July 18, 2014.

Three-Quarters Of Fourth-Year Report Personal Involvement In Medical Error; What Happens Then?

When Medical Students Make Errors by Dhruv Khullar.  Well Blog.  The New York Times.  May 15, 2014.

One In 20 Patients Of Outpatient Facilities Are Misdiagnosed: New Study

About 12 Million U.S. Outpatients Misdiagnosed Annually--Study by Curtis Skinner.  Reuters.  April 17, 2014.

Dual Names For Drugs: Medication Errors Waiting To Happen

One Drug, Two Names, Many Problems by Theresa Brown.  Bedside.  The New York Times.  November 30, 2013.

The hazards of having two names for drugs (brand and generic) with a proposal for a solution.

Dialogue On Handling Medical Errors

Sunday Dialogue:  Handling Medical Errors.  Sunday Review.  The New York Times.  October 18, 2013.

Excellent brief discussion of issues raised by medical errors and their reporting.

The Worst Time To Have Surgery

The Worst Time To Have Surgery by James Hamblin.  The Atlantic.  June 19, 2013.

This article includes scholarly articles of studies for further reference.

Read the article and test yourself.

(1)  Admissions on public holidays are, compared to patients admitted on non-holidays are ________% more likely to be dead one week later.

(2)  With each passing hour, the average gastroenterologist is ________ % less likely to detect a colon polyp.

(3)  What is the "rush hour effect" for C-sections?

One Source Of Potential Miscommunication And Medical Errors Identified: Surgical Suite Noise

Background Noise In the Operating Room Can Impair Surgical Team Communication.  Science Daily. May 10, 2013.

(1)  This is first study to demonstrate that a surgeon's ability to understand spoken words in the OR is ________________________.

(2)  A significant decrease in speech comprehension with the presence of background noise occurred when the words were _______________.

(3)  Particularly in the presence of music, OR noise  can result in ___________________

(4)  This study is important because miscommunication is _________________________.

(5)  Since discussions in the OR involve discussions of details of medication and dosing, many of these details may sound __________, making clear communications crucial.

Misdiagnosis: Widespread And Dangerous

Doctors' Diagnostic Errors Are Often Not Mentioned But Can Take A Serious Toll by Sandra G. Boodman.  Kaiser Health News.  May 6, 2013.

(1)  Diagnoses that are missed, incorrect or delayed are believe to affect ___________ of cases.

(2)  True or False:  Misdiagnoses exceeds drug errors or surgery on the wrong patient or body part.

(3)  According to a study cited in the article diagnostic errors in the ICU resulting in death numbered __________ .

(4)  True or False:  Misdiagnoses are more common in primary care.

(5)  True or False:  Rare or exotic diseases play the major role in misdiagnosis.

(6)  Three reasons contributing to misdiagnosis include difficulty in ____________;  the lack of ________; and generalized ___________.

(7)  Two digital databases, __________ and ________, may contribute to better diagnosis.

(8)  Discuss how diagnosis and hospital performance measures impact each other.

(9)  True or False:  Doctors discover if they have made the wrong diagnosis.

(10)  The ________________ is "a petri dish" for diagnostic mistakes

(11)  At least ______________missed diagnostic opportunities occur at U.S. primary care visits.

(12)  Discuss overconfidence and professional self-image in diagnostic mistakes.

(13)  Why is the question "What else could it be?"  so important?

(14)  How can an original diagnostic error set off a "cascade of mistakes"?

Diagnostic Errors: Leading Cause Of Successful Malpractice Claims

Diagnostic Errors Are Leading Cause Of Successful Malpractice Claims by David Brown.  The Washington Post.  April 22, 2013.

Key fact:  Diagnostic errors accounted for 35 percent of the total money paid out and causes 39 percent of malpractice-related deaths.   The article explores the reasons diagnostic errors are hard to catch and why there are no public reporting requirements for measuring diagnostic accuracy or error.

Doctor-Patient Communications: An Expert Forum

The Experts:  How To Improve Doctor-Patient Communications.  The Wall Street Journal.  April 12, 2013.

A tremendous collection of thoughts by experts.  I was particularly struck by the opinions of Leah Binder who linked effective communication with patients with effective communications with fellow clinicians.  A key sentence:  "In fact, in real life no patient should feel safe in a hospital where nurses are disparaged, because this is dangerous behavior on many levels."  The point made by Peter Pronovost is dramatic:  "Studies show that up to 80% of the medical information patients receive is forgotten immediately and nearly half of the information retained is incorrect."  I could go on and on.  Well worth a read.