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Understanding the Severity of Shoulder Dystocia
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Pain Pumps: FDA Requires Warning that Use in Joint Causes Chondrolysis and Cartilage Damage
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Yaz Can Lead to Irregular Heartbeat
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Protecting children from unintentional injuries
Safety issues for children in hot weather
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Common Causes of Brachial Palsy
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What is traumatic brain injury?
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Cell Phones Are Blamed For Many Kentucky Car Accidents
There Are An Alarming Amount of Kentucky Car Accidents Every Year
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Zicam cases in Kentucky and Ohio
Fentanyl pain patch being abused
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One in Fifteen Children Injured by Medicine Mistakes
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Surgical Errors Cost Billions of Dollars Every Year
How to prevent medical mistakes
Knees and Pain Pumps: New Evidence Linking Cartilage Loss in Knee Joint to Pain Pumps
Signs and Treatment of Kidney Failure
Yaz or Yasmin Birth Control Can Cause Deep Vein Thrombosis
Symptoms of Pulmonary Embolism Caused by Yaz and Yasmin Birth Control
Types of sports-related injuries
Treatment of children's sports-related injuries
Protecting children from unintentional injuries
Keeping children safe in hot weather
Attorney Ronald E. Johnson of Schachter & Hendy concentrates on legal issues surrounding medical mistakes. A recent report from ABC News says the chance of a serious medical mistake is small, but errors do happen. A report published in April by HealthGrades surveyed Medicare hospital records and found that nearly 3% of patients were at risk of some kind of medical error.
Some studies say that at least 80% of medical errors are from patients not taking the correct medicine or taking the wrong dosage.
The Boston Globe reports that there were 36 times in the past four years where surgeons operated on the wrong place or the wrong patient in Massachusetts hospitals. And Women'sHealth.about.com reports that the Institute of Medicine estimates that 44,000-98,000 people die from medical errors in hospitals each year.
Some hospitals and surgeons are implementing procedures to minimize these mistakes. Medical errors can occur in a variety of places—doctor's offices, labs, hospitals, pharmacies, or surgeries. Errors can happen because of actual mistakes such as prescribing medicine that a patient is allergic to, or just a lack of communication between patient and doctor. A recent study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that patients who are uninformed or uninvolved in their own care may not follow a doctor's treatment, and doctors sometimes don't do enough to help patients make informed decisions.
Women's Health reports that government agencies and health care providers are developing procedures to make sure patients stay safe. They've put together a list of tips patients can follow to make sure they get safe medical care:
u be informed and a part of making decisions about their your care plan
u make sure all your doctors know about the medicines and supplements you take
u let doctors know of any allergies or bad reactions to medicines
u make sure you can read a written prescription
u ask for more information about medicines so you understand what you're taking
u make sure you pick up the right medicine from the pharmacy
u make sure you understand all of the directions for taking the medicine
u ask the pharmacist for the right device for measuring liquid medicine to get the correct dose
u be sure to understand the possible side effects of different medications
u choose a hospital that specializes in your type of surgical procedure
u ask all health care workers in the hospital to wash their hands
u make sure you understand your treatment plan after you leave the hospital
u before a surgical procedure make sure you and the doctor communicate clearly
u ask a friend of relative to be your advocate in the hospital
For more information, go to the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse: phone, 1-800-358-9295 (outside the United States, please call 410-381-3150) or E-mail: ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.
Schachter, Hendy & Johnson, Attorneys At Law
909 Wrights Summit Parkway
Suite 210
Fort Wright, KY 41011
Phone: (859) 578-4444
Fax: (859) 578-4440
Toll Free: (888) 606-5297
Get Directions
Schachter, Hendy & Johnson, Attorneys At Law
909 Wrights Summit Parkway
Suite 210
Fort Wright, KY 41011
Phone: (859) 578-4444
Fax: (859) 578-4440
Toll Free: (888) 606-5297
Can pain pumps injure knees as well as shoulders?
How do I know if my shoulder pain is the result of a defective pain pump?