Patient Safety | Medical Malpractice Resources | Page 3

Whenever a person has to go to the doctor, it is likely that he or she has several questions to ask. What’s wrong? How can I improve my health? What medications do I need, and are there side effects? How will those affect my family? But before they even get to the doctor, there are […]
Hospital Negligence

When you don’t feel well there is nothing you want more than to just feel better. You don’t have time to be sick and you want to know what is wrong right now.  Getting the right diagnosis for what ails you though isn’t always that easy. Especially if you have those “flu-like” symptoms that are relatively […]
Misdiagnosis

Any patient undergoing a surgical procedure can be frightened. No matter how routine an operation may be, there are still risks and the potential for complications to arise. When that patient is a child, the experience can be that much more upsetting for the child and his or her parents. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have […]
Patient Safety

While it can be very troubling to hear about outpatient surgery center infection rates, it is important to have this information. Without it, there is no way to recognize patterns and improve patient safety. Unfortunately, there are some facilities for which some of this information is not available. Ambulatory care centers, where many outpatient surgical […]
Patient Safety

Pain is one of the major reasons a person goes to see a doctor. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the way in which pain is managed or controlled is a big factor in how patients rate their healthcare experiences. Dermot Maher, MD along with a group of researchers surveyed over 2900 surgical patients and he […]
Patient Safety

When we go to a hospital or doctor’s office we do so with the intent to be healed. We have an ailment or injury and we trust our health care provider to help us find a solution for it. Now even the best healthcare involves some degree of risk and we are made aware of […]
Hospital Negligence

The digital age has created a host of distractions. Yes, it has also made an astonishing amount of information available at the mere click of a computer mouse. But when it comes to the delivery of medical care, the distractions of overly-wired doctors can be a problem – and raise the risk of medical malpractice. […]
Medical Error

Walk into any medical facility in the Chicago area and throughout the entire United States and you will find a sterile, pristine and bright building filled with doctors and nurses who have obtained advanced degrees and have attended extensive training seminars to learn how to care and treat patients who suffer from a variety of […]
Medical Error

It’s estimated that more than 100,000 Americans have been exposed to dangerous infections such as HIV and hepatitis in the past decade. This is not through any action of their own; it is due to contaminated medical devices. Among those contaminated devices used were reused needles or vials of medicine that were dipped into more […]
Medical Error

While a hospital may seem like a safe place to stay, that’s not always the case. Hospital workers have a lot to pay attention to with patient care, and as one new doctor learned, sometimes simple safety issues are overlooked. A Harvard Medical School graduate learned some of her most valuable lessons — particularly about […]
Medical Error

Doctors in Chicago write numerous prescriptions each week, and careful consideration should be made by a doctor each time a patient needs medicine in order to protect patients from medication errors, complications or dangerous side effects. Doctor mistakes occur when dealing with medication, varying between incorrect doses, failing to warn a patient of a drug’s […]
Medications and Overdose

The sudden need to seek hospital care for an illness or injury can be nerve-wracking for some folks in Chicago, yet a hospital’s high standards in patient care can help to alleviate any apprehension. Folks might not fully understand the state of their health when they first seek medical treatment, but they trust that hospitals […]
Patient Safety

Last week on our Chicago medical malpractice law blog, we had mentioned that clear communication between doctors and their patients may help to reduce medical errors and prevent serious injuries, including a wrongful death. New information from research confirms this belief. A recent study shows that physicians who share their notes with patients generally experience […]
Wrongful Death

Doctors and patients in Illinois may greatly appreciate what technology can do for them in medical situations, but it can also create a number of problems — even medical errors — that could jeopardize patient safety. Electronic medical records have a range of benefits, including a user-friendly process that is easily accessible by medical professionals, […]
Medical Error

Medical malpractice is often associated with doctors, nurses or hospitals making errors during surgery, birth or when prescribing medications. Chicago patients often don’t think that anything could go wrong when doctors perform tests and screenings, unless the results of these tests are read inaccurately. However, some patient safety advocates argue that doctors could actually be […]
Medical Error

All hospitals in Illinois and across the country should already be putting the safety of patients first. Patient safety and quality care is often associated with low readmission rates and few incidents ofmedical malpractice. But this fall, hospitals may feel pressured to do more to guarantee patient safety and quality care. After analyzing hospital readmission […]
Patient Safety

A consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, recently reported that payments for U.S. medical malpractice claims have been dropping steadily for eight years. Payments in 2011 were the lowest on record since 1991. Chicago patients and their families might certainly be inclined to interpret this information as positive news. After all, fewer payments mean fewer instances […]
Medical Error

After a series of operating room accidents that have involved patients catching on fire, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working to find a solution to decrease the risk of surgical errors that can lead to fires in the operating room, jeopardizing patient safety. Although operating room fires are preventable, they still occur in […]
Medical Error

The Leapfrog Group, a national healthcare watchdog group, recently released the results of its new patient safety survey. The results reveal that hospital errors are still a problem in Illinois and throughout the entire U.S. These errors can lead to patients suffering undue harm, serious injuries or even a wrongful death. With the help of patient […]
Wrongful Death

As you may have heard before, July is the worst time of the year to go to the hospital due largely to the influx of brand new residents, fresh from medical school who are more apt to make medical mistakes. But this summer – thanks to new standards enacted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate […]
Medical Malpractice + Patient Safety