A hospital is a dangerous place to visit. Each year more than 400,000 people are killed due to preventable medical errors, which include preventable Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs). This makes preventable medical errors the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease (1st) and cancer (2nd).
A number of companies are developing new technologies to help reduce this tragic and appalling statistic. However, a new study from Consumer Reports suggests that technology alone may not solve this problem. The study links the respect shown to patients by the medical staff to the likelihood of those patients experiencing a preventable medical error. The study, funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, suggests patients will have better medical outcomes when hospital staff carefully listens and when patients speak up and ask questions.
It sounds simple enough, but a growing number of health experts believe that a lack of respect is an ingrained part of medicine that can contribute to medical errors. “For more than ten years, we have collected stories from harmed patients who commonly express frustration about not being listened to by staff and doctors during their hospital stay,” says Lisa McGiffert, manager of the Consumer Reports Safe Patient Project. “We encourage patients to speak up when they feel that their wishes are not being heard. This survey validates that doing so might actually save your life.”
Read the full article here.
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