As reported in the Citizen's Voice peventable medical errors are a leading cause of death in America. According to the Institute of Medicine, up to 98,000 patients a year die in U.S. hospitals due to preventable errors. Last year, Pennsylvania hospitals reported more than 200,000 patient safety incidents, more than 7,000 of which resulted in serious injury or death, according to the state’s Patient Safety Authority.While doctors and hospitals across the country pursue various ways to treat the epidemic of medical errors, many experts believe the best prescription is vigilance by patients and their families. In observance of National Patient Safety Day, which is today, we have compiled a list of the “Top 10 Tips to Get Out of the Hospital Alive.”
1. Educate yourself. Although the malpractice records of individual health-care providers are often kept secret, you can check out doctors and hospitals through the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine; the fee-based HealthGrades (www.healthgrades.com); the Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org); and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov). Also, ask your friends (especially lawyers, if you know any), family, co-workers, and neighbors.
2. Educate your doctor. Make sure your doctor knows about your medical history, blood type and any allergies, pre-existing conditions or adverse reactions to medications. Bring a list of all medications and supplements you take.
3. Ask a lot of questions. Use the Internet to find out as much as possible about your condition and treatments options.
4. Take an advocate with you. Ask a family member or friend to accompany you during your hospital stay.
5. Take notes or bring a tape recorder, so you can remember what your doctors told you. If you are expecting a doctor visit, make a list of questions you want to ask.
6. Double-check all your medications before accepting them. Medication errors are the most common kind of hospital error. Each time someone brings you medication, ask: What is this medicine for? Who prescribed it? When am I supposed to take it? How am I supposed to take it? What are the side effects? Is it safe to take with other medications or food?
7. Be friendly, but not too friendly. Save the chitchat until after the staff has administered medications or checked your vitals. Even little interruptions can be distracting enough to cause a slipup.
8. Wash hands. Hospital-borne infections are a major problem, even in the best facilities. Ask doctors, nurses and hospital staff to wash their hands before touching you or anything you will be touching. After you use the bathroom, wash your hands. Simple hand washing can save you from contracting a deadly infection during your hospital stay.
9. Avoid wrong-site surgery.This has become such a serious problem that Medicare, many private insurers and the state of Pennsylvania have begun refusing to pay for wrong-site surgeries. Prior to any operation, surgeons should sign or mark the body part to be operated on, and the hospital should have a procedure for verifying the surgical site before the operation begins. Ask your advocate to verify that the surgeon and operating room staff know the correct site.
10. Follow up. Ask when your test results will be available and follow up if your doctor or nurse doesn’t call. Also, don’t leave the hospital without fully understanding all post-treatment instructions, including what medication to take, proper dosages, when to schedule follow-up appointments and when you can return to normal activities.
Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. David I. Fallk, Esq., is a Scranton attorney and president of The Committee for Justice for All in Kingston.Continue Reading >
As reported last week by the Associated Press, a recent U.S. safety study showed that hundreds of thousands of commercial drivers should not be behind the wheel due to medical conditions. The Government Accountability Office determined that approximately 563,000 commercial drivers were eligible for full disability based on health issues.
More disturbing information regarding the health and safety of U.S. highways has just been released regarding fraudulent medical certificates for commercial drivers. An article on Sci-Tech Today.com highlights the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's study which found that, due to a lack of regulations and enforcement, it is "relatively easy" to get around the required physical examination for commercial drivers.
The study was based on a sampling of 614 commercial drivers stopped at roadside inspections in California, Illinois, and Ohio. Only 407 of the 614 medical examiners listed on the certificates could be verified. These findings come despite suggestions made in 2001 by NTSB to regulate the Medical Certification process.
These recommendations include "that examiners who certify drivers as medically fit be qualified and know what to look for, that a system be set up to track medical certificate applications and prevent drivers from doctor shopping, and that a mechanism be provided for reporting drivers with potentially debilitating medical conditions."
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's study is expected to be released at a hearing on Thursday.
Frightening new information regarding the safety of highway travelers has come to light. The Associated Press recently obtained a new U.S. safety study showing that hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer and bus drivers with commercial licenses, who travel our nation's highways everyday, are actually eligible for full federal disability.
The threats facing highway drivers are still a continued presence despite warnings and eight recommendations made by U.S. safety regulators beginning back in 2001. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, responsible for correcting the issues, has failed to complete any of these eight recommendations.
Every year, medical rules for truckers are violated all over the nation. The most recent information collected by the Transportation Department in 2006, shows Pennsylvania as one of the states where medical rules for commercial drivers were most frequently broken. The other states include: Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Ohio.
Presenting at a seminar entitled "The Big Truck Case From Investigation To Litigation" in Lexington, KY on June 27th, 2008, Daniel W. Munley, Esquire spoke on Discovery in Interstate Trucking Litigation.
This was a highly specialized seminar focusing specifically on tractor-trailer and large truck litigation. It was conducted by the Kentucky Association for Justice which is the equivalent of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.
It was attended by approximately 100 individuals.
Dan Munley was asked by the Chairman of this particular seminar, Mr. Tim Lange, to come and speak.Continue Reading >
According to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, despite states’ efforts to outlaw teen drivers from chatting on their cell phones, it is occurring at the same level as before the bans went into effect.
Earlier this week, researchers released the finding of an in depth look at North Carolina’s teen driver cell phone ban. They found that even though 95% of parents and 74% of teens support the ban, the new law isn’t reducing the number of teens using their phones while driving. Prior to the ban going into effect, researchers observed 11% of teens leaving high schools with one hand on the wheel, one hand on their phone. Then, after the ban was passed, researchers went back to the same high schools and observed 12% of teens chatting away while driving.
Researchers found that females were more likely than their male counterparts to be using cell phones while driving. Teens observed driving SUVs were more likely to be chatting than teens driving cars. However, teen drivers were less likely to be using their cell phones if they had friends in the car, compared with those driving alone.
So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws banning the use of cell phones and other communication devices by novice, teen drivers. This is in response to the fact that auto accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, and that teens are three-times more likely to die in a car crash than all other drivers. With the passage of the bans, lawmakers were hoping to curb this upward trend by keeping inexperienced drivers’ attention on the road, rather than what Kimmie is wearing to the dance on Friday night. After all, distracted driving, including driving while talking on a cell phone, is proving to be as risky of driving drunk.
However, despite the good intentions, the laws have yet to make a measurable impact. Some argue that it is just too early in the process to determine whether or not they are working. Others, say the bans are just simply unenforceable. In North Carolina, 71% of teens and 60% of parents felt as if enforcement of the bans is rare or non-existent. Only 22% of teenagers and 13% of their parents believed the laws were being enforced fairly often or a lot.
For a list of state law governing cell phone usage by teen drivers, click here.
According to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, despite states’ efforts to outlaw teen drivers from chatting on their cell phones, it is occurring at the same level as before the bans went into effect.
Earlier this week, researchers released the finding of an in depth look at North Carolina’s teen driver cell phone ban. They found that even though 95% of parents and 74% of teens support the ban, the new law isn’t reducing the number of teens using their phones while driving. Prior to the ban going into effect, researchers observed 11% of teens leaving high schools with one hand on the wheel, one hand on their phone. Then, after the ban was passed, researchers went back to the same high schools and observed 12% of teens chatting away while driving.
Researchers found that females were more likely than their male counterparts to be using cell phones while driving. Teens observed driving SUVs were more likely to be chatting than teens driving cars. However, teen drivers were less likely to be using their cell phones if they had friends in the car, compared with those driving alone.
So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws banning the use of cell phones and other communication devices by novice, teen drivers. This is in response to the fact that auto accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, and that teens are three-times more likely to die in a car crash than all other drivers. With the passage of the bans, lawmakers were hoping to curb this upward trend by keeping inexperienced drivers’ attention on the road, rather than what Kimmie is wearing to the dance on Friday night. After all, distracted driving, including driving while talking on a cell phone, is proving to be as risky of driving drunk.
However, despite the good intentions, the laws have yet to make a measurable impact. Some argue that it is just too early in the process to determine whether or not they are working. Others, say the bans are just simply unenforceable. In North Carolina, 71% of teens and 60% of parents felt as if enforcement of the bans is rare or non-existent. Only 22% of teenagers and 13% of their parents believed the laws were being enforced fairly often or a lot.
For a list of state law governing cell phone usage by teen drivers, click here.
When I pulled up to my favorite restaurant last night, I noticed a sign on the door, “We, like many other restaurants, will not be serving fresh tomatoes due to the salmonella outbreak.” Now, I have heard about the outbreak in the news, but hadn’t realized its scope until I got my favorite entrée sans tomatoes.
Since mid-April there have been nearly 150 cases of salmonellosis, a rare type of Salmonella Saintpaul posioning, linked to raw red plum, red Roma and/or round red tomatoes (according to the FDA, grape and cherry tomatoes as well as those still attached to the vine are still safe to eat). At least 23 have been hospitalized and illnesses have been reported across 17 states, making this the biggest food scare since the tainted spinach fiasco of ’06. The source of the tomato contamination has yet to be identified.
In the wake of the FDA warning, restaurants and supermarkets across the country are pulling the summer staple trying to ensure the safety of their customers.
If you have any of these tomatoes at home, best advice is to toss them in the trash or take them back to the place where you purchased them. Salmonella is passed when human or animal fecal matter comes in contact with food. In case that visual isn’t gross enough, the severe, flu-like symptoms that follow are enough to keep anyone away from these types of tomatoes. But, if you decide to go against the FDA’s advice and all conventional wisdom by eating the tainted treats, remember to wash them thoroughly, remove the part that is attached to the plant and the button on the other side and cook them at a minimum of 145 degrees. No matter how much of a daredevil you are, don’t try to eat them raw- its just not safe.
This latest breakdown of safety in our nation’s food chain should serve as a good reminder to remain vigilant when dealing with food. Properly cooking meat, poultry and eggs, and washing produce are generally the best methods to prevent illness. Keep your hands and kitchen surfaces clean to prevent cross-contamination.
If even after you take these precautions, you get sick- report the illness to the FDA. This is a very important step to identifying the source of the sickness and preventing others from falling ill.
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