|
Post by graybeard on Oct 4, 2010 7:08:18 GMT -6
Just found this I had saved in my med file. It's going on five years old, and still pertinent, and the link is still good. ------- Safety: Airlines Vs. Hospital Statistics show you're a lot safer in a U.S. airliner than in a U.S. hospital and a consulting firm says medicine can learn a lot from aviation. Lifewings Partners LLC, made up of military and commercial pilots, along with active doctors, teaches healthcare providers the principles of aviation Crew Resource Management with the goal of reducing the number of potentially life-threatening errors that happen in hospitals. According to a news release issued by Lifewings, 34 percent of critically ill patients in U.S. hospitals experienced mistakes in their medical care. It's the highest rate among developed countries. By contrast, the FAA published in 1996 that if you flew on "one flight at random each day, [you] would, on average, go for 21,000 years before perishing in a fatal crash." The statement is based off data that suggests your chances of being in fatal airline crash are one in eight million. Lifewings teaches CRM techniques to healthcare professionals and the effects have been significant for one prestigious medical center. Vanderbilt University Medical Center reports that it has "eliminated wrong surgeries," which undoubtedly has gone a long way toward improving "expected-to-observed mortality ratios." That's also cut malpractice suits. www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/554-full.html
|
|
|
Post by graybeard on Oct 7, 2010 5:05:13 GMT -6
Intensive Care is not that expensive room in the hospital with all the machines; it's the family being there around the clock, watching and being involved. I've saved my wife's life more than once, just by being there. Teenage children can and should take their shifts.
Per en.wikipedia.org "Medical Errors:" "In the U.S., medical errors are estimated to result in 44,000 to 98,000 unnecessary deaths, in hospital settings, and 1,000,000 excess injuries each year.[4][5] A conservative average of both the Institute of Medicine and HealthGrades reports indicates that there have been between 400,000-1.2 million error-induced deaths during 1996–2006 in the United States. "
Many is the night I've spent in a chair in a hospital room. The first event: I opened my eyes to see a large puddle of blood under her bed. The IV had come loose.
GB
|
|
|
Post by waltc on Oct 7, 2010 11:41:17 GMT -6
What Greybeard said.
In my experience, having people visit you while in a hospital is very important, because the nurses tend to take better care of patients who have regular visitors. If you're alone, you get treated like dirt by the staff and doctors. This is when you get the 5 second doctor visit(and which shows up on your bill as a $500 charge) among other things.
Oh yeah, don't let the nurses and doctors touch you with their hands, make sure they sanitize their hands and put on gloves, especially if a patient has a impaired immune system. Too many of them are too lazy to do it without someone making them And the hospital staff won't tell you that you can make them wash and glove before touching you.
|
|