I think we should all be allowed to have an independent person in the OR while we are undergoing surgery if this is any indiciation:
"About half of all surgeries involve some kind of medication error or unintended drug side effects, if a study done at one of America’s most prestigious academic medical centers is any indication."
That is just plain scary. You go for surgery and then you have a 50% chance of medication error or unintended side effect. That is not good.
"“There is a substantial potential for medication-related harm and a number of opportunities to improve safety,” according to the study, published in the journal Anesthesiology. More than one-third of the observed errors led to some kind of harm to the patient."
But these numbers are pretty real. A recent study was done at Massachusetts General Hospital by observers. Previous studies showed much lower numbers but those were self reported by doctors.
"Drugs delivered during an operation don’t have the same safeguards other medication orders do. In most parts of a hospital, prescriptions are double-checked by pharmacists and nurses before they reach a patient. Operating wards are riskier. “In the operating room, things happen very rapidly, and patients’ conditions change quickly, so we don’t have time to go through that whole process, which can take hours,” Nanji said. While all the errors observed in the study had the potential to cause harm, only three were considered life-threatening, and no patients died because of mistakes, Nanji said. In some cases, the harm lay in a change in vital signs or an elevated risk of infection."
A few more thoughts:
"Not every mistake meant the patient got the wrong drug or an incorrect dose. For example, many errors had to do with properly labeling drugs when they’re drawn into syringes for delivery. Because most medications just look like clear liquids, having several prepared without labeling them poses a risk that the wrong one could be delivered. Those breaches in protocol were counted as errors. In about one-fifth of the problems, adverse drug reactions were considered unavoidable — for example, if a patient had a drug allergy that doctors didn’t know about ahead of time. The study found that some kind of error was made in about one in every 20 drug administrations. Several medications are typically used in each operation, from anesthesia to antibiotics, so that rate translated into some kind of error or adverse reaction in every other surgery. Operations that lasted more than six hours were more likely to involve an error than shorter procedures."
Okay, I'm good with no more surgeries, thanks.
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Feb 5, 2018
Oct 9, 2017
Big hospitals forget who is important - the patient
A while back I read an article about how surgeons at Mass General were double booked for surgery and the hospital policy was okay with this. Double booking is when the surgeon is responsible for two surgeries going on at the same time. A follow up was published yesterday to show the results of this expose and whistle blowing by Dr. Dennis Burke.
"Burke was at the center of the Globe Spotlight Team’s report in October about the propriety and safety of a fairly common practice called concurrent surgery, or double-booking, in which doctors work on more than one patient at a time."
And as long as the doctor is within 1/4 mile of the hospital during both surgeries this is okay. And that's the new policy instituted by MGH as a result of the story. Really? I don't consider this that okay at all. I would not want the patient where the surgeon wasn't even in the room. I assume the surgeon is responsible for the surgery should be in the room at all time.
Burke is uncompromising on the issue. He called it unsafe and unethical, embracing a cautious approach that I think most of us expect from the doctor wielding the scalpel.The hospital's response to this article was appalling. They fired the man who spoke up about this issue. He was a physician at the hospital and ended up moving on to a new hospital, and all his patients followed him.
"Burke was at the center of the Globe Spotlight Team’s report in October about the propriety and safety of a fairly common practice called concurrent surgery, or double-booking, in which doctors work on more than one patient at a time."
And as long as the doctor is within 1/4 mile of the hospital during both surgeries this is okay. And that's the new policy instituted by MGH as a result of the story. Really? I don't consider this that okay at all. I would not want the patient where the surgeon wasn't even in the room. I assume the surgeon is responsible for the surgery should be in the room at all time.
Burke is uncompromising on the issue. He called it unsafe and unethical, embracing a cautious approach that I think most of us expect from the doctor wielding the scalpel.The hospital's response to this article was appalling. They fired the man who spoke up about this issue. He was a physician at the hospital and ended up moving on to a new hospital, and all his patients followed him.
The hospital disagreed. MGH said it has taken careful steps to assure patient safety. The hospital accused Burke of violating hospital rules and perhaps federal privacy laws by supplying the Globe with copies of some internal records.
Being a whistle blower is a hard thing to do. And by being fired by the hospital, he has become a hero to others.
Being a whistle blower is a hard thing to do. And by being fired by the hospital, he has become a hero to others.
"Burke thinks MGH and its advisers blundered by terminating him. “Probably the stupidest thing they did was to fire me,’’ he said. “If they didn’t, this wouldn’t be such a big story.’’
But it is. And that may explain why nearly 300 people turned out at the Fairmont Copley Plaza on Friday afternoon during a risk management seminar sponsored by Harvard Medical School to hear Burke’s version of events and why he believes concurrent surgery is unacceptable.
When he was done, the audience stood as one amid resounding applause."
But it is. And that may explain why nearly 300 people turned out at the Fairmont Copley Plaza on Friday afternoon during a risk management seminar sponsored by Harvard Medical School to hear Burke’s version of events and why he believes concurrent surgery is unacceptable.
When he was done, the audience stood as one amid resounding applause."
Who do you want for your surgeon? One that is up to 1/4 mile away while you are in the OR or the one who said this was wrong? The patient is the most important person here and their safety should be utmost.
Dec 12, 2016
Chemo-cation
I finished cycle 12 of Xeloda with an increase in Hand-Foot Syndrome but only at the very end of the cycle. I lost three layers of skin on my thumbs and first fingers but they're healing nicely. My tumor markers are still stable!
Dr G said, Oh, I'm hurting you! I reassured him that I was coping but really I think I am getting close to the end of my Xeloda tolerance.
The dentist says my sore tongue comes from the same side effect. Basically the skin covering my tongue has Hand-Foot Syndrome (!). She could hardly believe that I still have taste buds.
My new opthalmalogist/surgeon says that 18 months of Abraxane likely caused the cataracts in both eyes. I am having the surgery in January, so I get a three week chemo-cation (plus the week recovering from the first surgery).
Between eye surgeries I'll have one more Xeloda (round 13) and then we will re-evaluate during my second three week chemo-cation. Dr G wants to add Afinitor to the mix (Xeloda, Avaston, Aromasin, Aredia). I had Afinitor before without much luck and plenty of side effects, but I may be close to the end of what I can tolerate from Xeloda. However, Xeloda has me stable and I do tolerate pain well. (I am sad that I had to learn this about myself, but it's one of the things cancer taught me.) There are plenty more drugs out there plus anything new that comes out of the recent ASCO conference.