Personal Injury Law

New York Malpractice Lawyer Explains Simple Way to Make Surgery Safer

By Jim Reed

There?s a tool your doctor or hospital can use that could make your chances of dying after surgery drop by 40 percent. The same tool could even reduce your risk of post-surgery complications by more than 30 percent.

It?s not a fancy laser or high-tech diagnostic machine.  It?s a simple checklist! All it requires is your surgical team?s commitment to making sure every item is checked off before, during and after your surgery.

The checklist was the result of a World Health Organization research project. The findings were that 19 simple steps ? many of them real no-brainers such as ?Confirm the patient?s identity, surgical site and procedure,? or inventorying the instruments after the procedure ? significantly improved patients? chances of a smooth recovery.

Medical malpractice can be the result of oversight, the skipping over of details that are important but may be mundane. The checklist offers a simple solution to a serious problem.

The Jan. 14 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine reported on the research project. Click on the title to read the entire ?Elements of a Surgical Safety Checklist.?

Thanks for reading, Jim

_________________________________________

James B. Reed, Esq.

Personal Injury & Malpractice Attorney

Ziff Law Firm, LLP

303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902

Tel. (607) 733-8866  Fax. (607) 732-6062

Toll Free 1-800-943-3529

mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com http://www.zifflaw.com

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Full post as published by New York Injury Law Blog on January 27, 2009 (boomark / email).