Patient Safety In American Hospitals

When you step into a hospital, you expect to get better. That doesn’t always happen.

So, here are some ways you can protect yourself or your loved one.

HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings organization, just released the 7th annual “Patients Safety in American Hospitals” study. It used this study to look at patient safety in the 5,000 nonfederal hospitals across the country between 2006 and 2009. Researchers found, in addition to the number of daily medical mistakes, around 40,000, that 99,000 patients died after suffering from one or more of these medical mistakes over this time period.

What's not clear is how often the hospital is to blame. The confusion comes about because oftentimes the patients involved are the sickest patients hospitals end up taking care of. The American Hospital Association doesn't agree with all the findings but does say: "we are continually mindful of the need to get better at safer care. This is a critically important issue."

So what does this mean for you? Basically, the same things it’s meant for years. You need to maintain control over your health. Whether you go to visit your doctor or get admitted to the hospital, be sure to keep a close eye on what is done and what is recommended. Since this can be a stressful time, it might be hard to remember everything that’s said. Bringing a loved one or friend along can help keep things straight. Also, when you’re given a prescription or advised to get a certain procedure, make sure you ask both the reason and what alternatives are available. The important thing to remember out of all of this is that your health is like a team sport. And on this team you’re the captain who needs to make sure it all goes well.