When Medical Error Becomes Personal, Activism Becomes Painful

BY MICHAEL MILLENSON In the mid-1990s, researching a book about the quality of medical care, I discovered how the profession had for years been ignoring evidence about the appalling death toll from preventable medical error. Though I’d never myself experienced an error, I became an activist. Recently, however, a relative was a victim, and the frustrating persistence of error became personally painful. Thanks to my relative being acutely aware of the need to be alert (and a bit of luck), no harm was caused by what could have been a serious medication mistake. That was the good news. The bad news is that even Famous Name Hospitals, like the one where my relative was treated, are rarely doing everything possible to forestall the impact of inevitable human fallibility. September 17 was World Patient Safety Day, and the theme for the next 12 months is “Medication Without Harm.” That makes this an opportune time to examine more closely what the profession euphemistically calls a “medication misadventure.” My relative’s care began how you’d expect from a renowned academic medical center. From the time she was admitted, there was top-notch treatment for a complex set of conditions. Then, one day, a nurse came into the room to infuse a solution of magnesium, an essential electrolyte. And here is where patient alertness paid off. Two hours into an expected three-hour infusion, with an IV in one arm, my relative used her other arm and an iPad to...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Medical Education Medical Practice medical error Michael Millenson Patient Safety World Patient Safety Day Source Type: blogs