Personal Injury Law

Patient Safety Day to Raise Awareness of Medical Error

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

This Sunday July 25th marks ?Patient Safety Day? which seeks to remind all those who receive medical treatment to remain vigilant about the care they are provided and active to ensure that they do not fall victim to negligent medical error.

Unknown to many, medical errors and the costs to correct those errors have tripled in recent years. The mistakes come in a variety of forms, from surgeries conducted on the wrong part of the body to infections caused by unsterile equipment and unclean medical staff. In all cases, however, the injury to the patient and the resulting complications are entirely avoidable. According to the Institute of Medicine, over 271,000 people died last year due to medical error. On top of that, almost $66 billion is spent on medical care each year to correct the complications that were caused by medical error in the first place.

Patient Safety Day seeks to raise awareness of this prevalent problem and encourage all patients to push for open and fair changes in hospital protocol. For example, the rates of hospital-caused infections and medical errors should be reported in each state so that consumers are properly educated when making medical choices.

Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have long been advocates for patients remaining active participants in their medical care. Medical professionals make decisions every day in which life and death literally hangs in the balance. When mistakes are made, the healthcare providers need to be sure to accept the error and compensate the victims. Only then, when information is openly and honestly shared, can patients begin to make the most informed healthcare choices. And only when hospitals are held accountable for their errors will they be sure to implement changes so that no future patients suffer from the same mistakes again and again.

Please Click Here to read more about Patient Safety Day.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on July 23, 2010 (boomark / email).