The following guest post on patient safety was submitted by Hannah Whittenly.
Medical professionals are expected to live up to certain standards. As expert caregivers, their patients expect them to be objective, knowledgeable, sympathetic, and detail-oriented. It isn’t easy in some situations or over the course of a long shift, but maintaining professionalism is important to productive interactions with colleagues and patients. Here are some ways it affects the quality of the treatment patients are receiving.
Respect for Patients
Patients can experience a range of emotions. They can be disrespectful or abusive to their own caregivers, particularly nursing staff. It’s important to remember that the patient needs help. Nobody likes to be the target of someone else’s stress, but a patient may be going through a difficult time whereas a professional is doing a job objectively. Professionalism means self-restraint. Empathy and respect for patient dignity are essential to good care.
Team Work
Hospital staff is part of a team, which can include everyone, 24 hours a day. The team should be focused on providing the best patient care. That’s hard to do if there’s even one team member that’s consistently rude, tardy, or demanding. Any healthcare organization is committed to making money by ensuring that efficient treatments take place. That isn’t possible if the team doesn’t work well together. Professionals accept their responsibility to each other, and that’s the best environment for the patient—it also ensures that they are in a safer atmosphere.
Appearance
Everyone recognizes that visual information forms our initial judgment of new people, particularly when it comes to healthcare. Hospitals are associated with cleanliness and dedicated highly trained staff. A clean and professional caregiver inspires immediate confidence in the patient. Looking slovenly and unkempt tells patients that this individual is unhygienic, lazy, or just doesn’t care. A patient that has no confidence in a caregiver makes it much harder for the team to do its job. Not only that, but the confidence that a patient has in you will make them calmer and more responsive to treatment
Career
Maintaining a professional attitude and sense of duty can mean a lot to patients and coworkers, but in a competitive field, it won’t necessarily earn the opportunity to provide better care in a supervisory role. Advancements in education, such as getting your online bachelor’s in nursing, will help to further a medical career. It will require greater demands on personal time, but an online nursing degree is the best chance to fit coursework into a busy schedule. Superior knowledge makes it possible to provide superior care.
Patient care and safety are always the primary concern. The ability to provide them consistently and professionally will add greater value to the organization and the community.
Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.
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The following guest post on patient safety in healthcare was submitted by Dixie Somers.
Because so many changes occur in a woman’s body when she is pregnant, doctors, nurses, and other health care workers must approach this patient with caution. If you are caring for a pregnant patient, you must be aware of all of the changes going on in her body and must be aware that typically safe procedures and medications may affect her differently than they would affect non-pregnant individuals. Although most pregnant patients are seen in dedicated OB clinics or are admitted to OB hospital floors, not all are, meaning that you may take care of a pregnant individual one day even if you have not received adequate or complete training in this specialty area.
What are 5 simple steps healthcare providers can take to protect the safety of pregnant patients?
Be Careful with Medications
Many medications affect the pregnant body differently than they affect the non-pregnant body. Besides this, not many medications have been tested on pregnant women. Therefore, many hospitalists do not conclusively know whether certain medications are safe for the fetus. Before prescribing a medication, look carefully at other medications the woman may be taking for possible interactions and consult a drug reference for FDA classifications. Class A is the safest, but occasionally doctors may prescribe Class B or C drugs if they determine that the benefits are greater than the risks.
Be Careful with Radiology
While pregnant women can undergo some radiology, you should not subject them to more than is absolutely necessary for the health of the fetus. You may wish to try to delay treating certain medical issues until after pregnancy. However, when you must, pregnant women can undergo x-rays, CT scans or MRIs as well as ultrasounds. Contrast material should not be used.
Consult with the Obstetrics Physician
If you have not received adequate training in obstetrics or gynecology, you simply do not have the knowledge base the woman’s primary OB doctor has. Before prescribing drugs or treatments, consult with the attending physician. He or she may know about underlying conditions or pregnancy risks that would affect your treatment choices or the health of the mother.
Be Aware of Physiologic Changes
Many changes occur in the pregnant woman’s body that can affect her health, particularly during certain treatments. Be aware of the possibility for high blood pressure or gestational diabetes. Other changes that can affect your care of her include high incidences of asthma, increased cardiac output, decreased hematocrit and increased creatinine clearance rates.
Be Careful with Inductions
If you are the attending physician or OB nurse, you will want to be very careful with inducing a pregnant patient. Inductions can produce harder labors and deliveries and can be quite difficult for the mother and the child. Inductions before 40 weeks are rarely indicated. Instead, ensure that the fetus has plenty of time to mature by waiting until 41 or 42 weeks before inducing.
If you do not feel comfortable making a certain decision as you care for a pregnant patient, be sure to consult with the patient’s primary physician or with a nurse or other health care worker skilled in this field. You will not be looked down on for putting the patient’s needs before your own reputation. In fact, you will most likely gain a reputation among your colleagues and patients as being a careful and safe worker.
Dixie Somers is a freelance writer and blogger from Phoenix, Arizona, who loves most to write for health, technology, and business niches. Dixie is the proud mother of three beautiful girls and wife to a wonderful husband.
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The following post on patient safety in healthcare was submitted by Emma Turner.
Everyone is a patient. Whether it’s a simple cold or a complicated surgical procedure, sooner or later, we all need a doctor – and Patient Safety Awareness Week is a time to reflect on how healthcare organizations and patients can work together to keep everybody safe, healthy and happy.
The week marks the culmination of the United in Patient Safety campaign, and this year, will take place from 12 to 18 March.
We put a lot of faith in our doctors – and in theory, medical professionals take a great deal of pride in ensuring you receive the highest quality of care. But no matter how knowledgeable or skilful your doctor may be, accidents happen.
What can patients and doctors do together to ensure better patient safety in healthcare?
Here’s the reality: hospitals are places of trauma, where sick and seriously injured people look for help. This means that doctors are often overrun with a variety of crises, and feel compelled to work long hours seeing many different patients, often long into the night.
These working conditions would make anyone crabby – but they can make doctors exhausted, and prone to making serious errors under pressure. And those mistakes can put your health, safety and even your life at risk.
How Many Fatal Medical Mistakes Occur Every Year?
New research shows medical errors are a major problem. A study by Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that as many as 250,000 deaths per year in the United States alone are due to some form of medical error. The study’s authors believe that medical error should now be regarded as the third leading cause of death in the country – and that many of these fatal mishaps are preventable.
In fact, the researchers caution against blaming so-called “bad” doctors, and point instead to an array of systemic failures that could lead to mistakes being made. These oversights include poor coordination of care between doctors and facilities, fragmented insurance networks, absent safety protocols, and avoidable variations in physician practice patterns.
Good News! Our Hospitals Are Becoming Safer
Efforts to avoid these mistakes from happening are working. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently concluded that the number of illnesses or injuries that occur in hospital, or hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), has been steadily declining since 2010.
The agency estimates that between 2010 and 2014, hospitals were able to reduce HACs by 17 percent, a sure sign that local and national efforts to improve patient safety are paying off. A total of 2.1 million fewer HACs were experienced by patients in those four years, which is good news for anyone who finds that they need to be admitted to hospital, as it represents an overall increase in safety – and comes at a time when hospitals all over the country have ramped up their attempts to reduce adverse events.
Clearly, hospitals are embracing their duties of safety and care – and it’s not just your health that stands to benefit. By paying attention to the negative impact of unnecessary errors, the nation’s hospitals managed to save as much as $19.85 billion in costs between 2010 and 2014. Those savings are crucial, as they enable healthcare practitioners to offer their patients an ever-improving standard of care.
What Can Doctors Do About the Safety Standard in Hospital?
The resident experts in each hospital are responsible for improving conditions – and a new poll shows that more and more of those specialists are making progress. In the AHRQ’s Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, 76 percent of respondents graded their work area or unit as either very good or excellent – while less than half of them reported at least one safety-related incident in their facility in the past 12 months.
While each medical error is as unique as the patient being treated, there are patterns and trends that present themselves over time. Some common causes of serious medical errors include poor planning, doctor fatigue, and failure in communication among healthcare staff, prescription of incorrect medication or dosage, and pharmacist error.
Some steps doctors and other healthcare workers can take to prevent mistakes are:
1. Plan meticulously before each and every surgical procedure or outpatient treatment; 2. Get enough rest and adhere to federal guidelines regulating doctors’ working hours; 3. Ensure open lines of communication between staff members and specialists, and from one stage of treatment to the next; 4. Look out for medication interaction issues due to previous prescriptions; and 5. Print each prescription notice neatly and clearly, and make sure the patient understands how, and how regularly, to administer their medication.
What Can You Do to Avoid Becoming the Victim of a Medical Error?
Hospitals are unique places, where traumatized patients seek help from frazzled or fatigued doctors. While strict safety standards are designed to prevent serious accidents, the combination of high stakes and human nature is bound to lead to mistakes every so often.
Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to ensure those errors don’t leave you more ill than when you walked in, or worse.
The first and most important step to take in avoiding a serious or even fatal medical mistake is to look past the white coat. Doctors are people too – they face challenging working conditions and a range of other strains and stressors, and despite their years of training and insights into mysterious illnesses, they are capable of making mistakes.
Here’s how to check in on your doctor’s diagnosis, and guarantee that you are receiving proper care:
1. Research as much as you can about your condition and the required treatment plan; 2. Study your doctor for signs of fatigue, and report them to management if you feel they are too tired or overworked to examine your case properly; 3. Make sure you know each individual in your healthcare team by name, including not just your primary care physician but nurses, surgeons and specialists, and ask questions to check that they are communicating openly with each other; 4. Be honest with your doctors about your full medical history, and tell them about any other medications you might have been prescribed by another doctor; and 5. Double-check your pharmacist’s instructions and make sure you understand how and when to take your medication.
Author: Emma Turner is a blogger writing for http://nursingschoolsnearme.com, a website helping students and established nursing professionals in a range of topics.
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The following guest post on patient safety in healthcare was submitted by Paul Trevino.
A patient that approaches a doctor is most likely in need of some sort of medical treatment. The patient trusts that the doctor has the necessary expertise and ability to improve if not relief his medical condition. Medical practitioners are responsible for the wellbeing of all their patients, and should treat everyone equally. Sadly, a lot of patients nowadays are not properly taken care of. Over the years, there have been lots of case of malpractice, and the reasons vary. Some say physicians are no compensated fairy; they work extra shifts, thus making them unable to focus and make sure patients are attended properly.
The fear of medical malpractice has a direct impact on patient safety in healthcare.
Nonetheless, that’s certainly no excuse to be negligent at work. The medical profession is a noble profession. It helps sustain life, thus making patients feel safe as they walk into a hospital. They deserve to be looked after because most of have health insurance, and the money that they pay helps the doctor have a personal life outside the hospital as well.
Patient expectations in medical facilities
Because it helps sustain life, the medical profession is a noble profession. Having a proper conduct when treating patients is a fundamental part of a doctor’s professional and ethical standards. In spite of this fact, there are physicians that don’t abide by the rules. Some practice defensive medicine; others don’t report incidents and are hesitant when doing a job they should master. The risk of undergoing malpractice litigation is a relevant factor that plays a part in their behavior.
Defensive medicine is related to performing unnecessary tests and medical procedures, thus deviating from fundamental guideline practices and ignoring high risk patients. In terms of malpractice litigation, the risks involved often affect a physician’s behavior toward their patients. Following an incident, the patient can proceed with taking legal action against the healthcare professional in the hopes of preventing further incidents from happening again.
Why do patients feel unsafe in healthcare facilities?
Prior research has rendered pertinent information as to why some patient don’t feel safe in healthcare facilities. Certain physicians are used to practicing defensive medicine in order to preserve a doctor-patient bond. That being said, the most common incidents happen when patients don’t report them. Lack of feedback, time scarcity on formerly reported incidents, and even the level of bureaucracy present in many institutions have compelled many physicians to stop reporting accidents, regardless of their nature.
In some circumstances, doctors don’t disclose essential information to patients because of a faulty medical care culture, where employees are too afraid that they’ll get fired if they report misconduct or incidents. As for the medical legal system, there’s a lack of insight as far as understanding in what circumstances a certain incident occurred. Additional reasons that might compel physicians to practice defensive medicine might be related to financial burdens and increased costs of liability insurance.
Furthermore, litigation risks dismays physicians from sharing sensitive information regarding incidents to their patients. Healthcare workers may not be able to provide a patient with all the required details following an error due to perceived lacks of legal protections from the law. If a physician thinks that disclosure can persuade a patient not to file a complaint, they might endorse sensitive information; otherwise they prefer to keep quiet and not reveal too much.
A senior patient’s relationship with his caregiver
Unlike general physicians that work in hospitals, caregivers tend to develop different relationships with their patients. In some case, they become extremely close and the bond nearly become a friendship. But caregivers must also develop a sense of responsibility. Otherwise they are predisposed to medical malpractice, too. Many have been accused over the years that they don’t look after their patients, or that they don’t have the skills to provide enough advice to help the patient recover.
Malpractice is a very sensitive topic in the medical environment. Both caregivers and physicians should do everything they can to make sure their patients are on the right path to recovery. Whether you have a loved one currently living in care homes in Maidstone, or you’re considering hospitalization, it might be a good idea to know more about the rules and regulations of the facility. This will help you provide the best possible care for your beloved relative.
Paul Trevino is interested in writing about health and fitness related issues. He has a deep knowledge at this field. He also enjoys reading fitness magazines at his free time.
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The following guest post on healthcare analytics was submitted by Yeshwanth HV.
As healthcare enters the digital age, the practice of medicine will change for the better. It will move away from the clasp of largely reactive decision-making, which was inaccurate and expensive to say the least, and into the realm of evidence-based medicine; thereby becoming more proactive, connected and personalized. In simple words this means that the days of long trips to hospitals that culminated into a series of referrals followed by questions and answer sessions, and tests that were repeated over and over again will be a thing of the past. Patients will start receiving treatments and be prescribed medications that are customized as per their unique needs. With comprehensive medical information about the patient along with a repository of knowledge base that includes every aspect of treating patients with similar medical conditions, care teams will be able to devise accurate healthcare plans that can mitigate any harm to life or safety of patients.
The collection and interpretation of healthcare analytics is fundamentally changing modern healthcare delivery.
If you think that this form of care is too “futuristic” and can only exist in animations shows such as ‘The Jetsons,’ let me get you acquainted with the reality. The truth is this form of care is already happening and will eventually be integrated into every routine healthcare protocol.
The ‘magic’ that made this possible
Yes, hospitals and other healthcare practices have scrutinized operational and financial data since ages, but the magic started happening when they started to track and analyze healthcare data. When healthcare related data is gleaned from a variety of sources – starting from EHRs and disease registries to direct patient surveys and even digital health devices used by individuals – providers can obtain a well-rounded view, which enables them to analyze every patient, understand their needs and proactively reach out to provide personalized care. When diligently used, the intelligence gained from analytics can move beyond improving healthcare outcomes and give a new lease of life to a hospital’s bottom line.
Factors driving this move towards analytics
The first reason is the cost. It is no secret that ‘reactive’ healthcare is a lot heavier on the pocket when compared to ‘proactive or preventive’ healthcare, which is essentially conceived with an objective to keep individuals out of costly healthcare settings such as emergency rooms. The other crucial factor that is encouraging this trend is the shift from fee-for-service model to accountable, value-based care models that essentially link quality of care and reimbursement. For healthcare providers, this move means that their survival depends upon the usage of analytics to streamline financial and operational performance of the organization.
How does it work?
Not long ago, providing evidence-based treatment meant that hospitals had to follow a series of well-tested care protocols. However, with greater access to healthcare data and advancements in analytics, we have entered a new era of evidence driven care. By accumulating and analyzing data from diverse feeds over an extended period of time, care providers can understand the exact reasons for bad outcomes and therefore realign their strategies to provide most effective care to individual patients as well as to a particular section of patient populations.
Healthcare providers can also leverage analytics to recognize patterns in a population’s health and precisely estimate individual risk scores. Based on these scores, they can priorities the work of individual healthcare team, allowing them focus more time on the most vulnerable individual. What’s more healthcare analytics, whether based on risk assessment, EMRs or claims data, can categories patients prior to service and tackle a potential concerns before they pose any real threat to the patients. It can also quantify everything – from emergency room visits, treatment outcomes and readmissions to wait times and utilization of expensive services – and offers a level of transparency that is good for both healthcare outcomes and for business. For instance it can help providers to set up internal benchmarks to gauge quality and cost performance, and provide a detailed understanding of how well they stack up against their counterparts. It also can help hospitals to swiftly make crucial decisions pertaining to reducing costs, optimizing resources, improving care quality and enhancing their competitive positions.
The benefits of healthcare analytics on the patient side are also equally compelling. By arming patients with timely and relevant information, and enabling them to have an extensive understanding, healthcare analytics has opened up a new era of customized healthcare.
Conclusion: Changes are coming; be ready to embrace it
In developed nations the usage of healthcare analytics is growing at a rapid pace. As a result of this, very soon the roles of patients, physicians, hospitals and other healthcare organizations will see some drastic changes in the coming years as mentioned below-
• Patients will become better informed and assume more responsibility for their own care
• Physicians will assume more of a consultant role than a decision maker and will advise, warn and help individual patients. They will start witnessing more success as care becomes more accurate and proactive. And they will have more time to interact with patients and build long lasting relationships
• Hospitals will start witnessing fewer unnecessary hospitalizations, resulting in revenue losses initially. However, overtime, admissions will become more meaningful, the market will adjust, and accomplishment will rise
All in all, changes are coming. Be proactive and ready to embrace the new world order that will take healthcare to the next level.
Author Bio:
Yeshwanth HV is a healthcare writer employed by MedBillingExperts, a leading provider of healthcare business process outsourcing services such as medical billing, medical coding, medical records indexing and healthcare analytics services to medical practitioners and healthcare organizations worldwide. Dedicated towards the healthcare industry, he has authored several blogs and articles that have received rave reviews in the industry. Prior to MedBillingExperts, Yeshwanth worked with CIO Review and has authored several bylined pieces for the quarterly editions of the magazine.
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The following guest post on infection control in healthcare was submitted by Ashton Blagden.
Hospital renovation or the construction process is not a small thing. You need to keep an eye on the entire process from time and again so that it completes on time without causing other issues. One of the most important things that you need to keep in mind and look for while carrying out the hospital renovation is infection control.
Having an infection control process implemented and then forgetting about the whole thing is not done. You have to keep on monitoring the measures and make sure that everything works as per the plan.
Maintaining strong infection control is an important aspect of sustaining patient safety during hospital renovations.
So, here I am with a few effective tips that you can practice to control infection while carrying out the construction process in the hospital.
Get an infection control owner
It is not at all possible to control infection without having a person in charge of things. So you need to have an infection control owner in place. But, this does not mean that the person has to make sure infection control is properly in place by completing the tasks on his own. The duty of such a person is to check out the things that need to be done and then assign the tasks to different people. After that, he needs to do a follow-up for the same from time to time. By having an infection control owner, you increase the chance of keeping the place infection-free as per the guidelines.
Invest in the right resources
Having the right kind of infection control resources is very important, like for any other facility processes. Infection control should be given priority as if you follow the right procedures you will be able to save the lives of a good number of patients. So make sure you invest in the right resources along with your money and time.
Check out the negative air pressure areas
To keep the hospital premises pathogen free from the construction area, it is very important to maintain negative air pressure. But then, maintaining the negative air pressure is not easy too. So you have to keep on monitoring the area with negative air pressure and ensure that all the equipment placed there are working properly. The best two ways to check the negative air pressure is by going for a visual test using a flutter strip or smoke and by going for the manometer.
If the negative air pressure is not working then you can go for the option of HEPA filters. You need to keep on changing the filters regularly to monitor the area.
Keep learning
You need to be alert to make sure that all the infection control protocols are working and everything is in place to get the job done. To make the infection control process easier now a number of products are available in the market. You can implement them in the hospitals for better results. The infection control contractors, as well as the hospital employees, should be educated about monitoring and practicing infection control.
For many, it may not be the best of concerns, but having proper infection control in place will lead to happy and healthy patients.
Guest Post from Ashton Blagden, Dealslands
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For those that attended the 2017 HIMSS Conference in Orlando, welcome back to reality! Even though the show ended last week, the reverberations and excitement of the information, technology, and ideas shared, unveiled, and discussed will be around for years to come.
Each annual HIMSS conference presents a wealth of knowledge and showcases perhaps the most interesting and innovative healthcare technology in the world. If you are lucky enough to attend HIMSS, you know that it’s easy to get swallowed up in the Exhibit Hall by vendors competing for your attention and blinded by the flashing lights, spinning booth displays, and boisterous entertainment. Unless you map out a specific vendor path destination or have a pre-determined agenda scheduled, things can get rather dicey navigating the hordes of people congregating in the aisles.
The RightPatient team had a very successful 2017 HIMSS conference.
For those of you that took the time to stop by and visit us in the GA Health IT Pavilion (Booth #3015) to see how cognitive vision intelligence can improve patient safety and increase revenue though accurate patient identification, a sincere thank you. You were treated to not only our innovative and unique approach to solving the patient identity crises in healthcare through the use of photo biometrics, but you also were on hand to witness the unveiling of PatientLens™ – a human vision app to reduce medical errors and increase patient safety that turns any smart device into a powerful, intuitive patient ID tool.
You learned that PatientLens helps to identify unconscious patients in seconds and is an important part of an overarching strategy to reduce medical errors along the care continuum by positively identifying a patient prior to rendering services or distributing data. After all, it’s no longer feasible or realistic to define patient ID solely in the context of a physical visit to a healthcare organization. Patient identification must now be viewed as critical during each and every touchpoint along the care continuum – e.g. connected health apps, telemedicine, home health, and patient portals. Investing in a patient ID and patient data integrity technology that can only be used when a patient physically shows up for a visit is an antiquated and somewhat risky and dangerous approach.
Another fantastic year at HIMSS! The exhibit floor was very busy.
The time is now to learn more about establishing a holistic approach to patient ID that addresses the positive identification of increasingly mobile patients with cognitive vision technology that saves lives, improves quality and reduces risk.
We would like to take a moment and announce that John Faust, VP of Health Informatics and Technology at Lifepont health was the winner of our Amazon Echo booth giveaway. Congratulations John!
We would also like to extend a thank you to the GA Department of Economic Development and the Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to share booth space and for making the entire logistical process smooth as silk. We are very grateful!
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The following guest post on patient safety in healthcare was submitted by Hannah Whittenly.
When a patient goes to the doctor’s office or a hospital, you expect that everything that has to do with your treatments will be as safe as possible. From surgical procedures to simple lab tests, doctors and other staff members should keep patients as safe as they can be so that there is no risk of getting an infection and so that there is no risk of falling in the facility. There are quite a few ways that medical professionals can help to increase patient safety to make going to the doctor or hospital a pleasant experience.
Learn some simple steps to improve patient safety at your healthcare organization.
Doses and Drugs
One of the ways that medical professionals can keep patients safer is to examine the medications that are given very closely and to make sure that the proper doses are written on paperwork and the actual prescription. Many of the prescriptions that are given use abbreviations that can sometimes be confused with multiple things in the medical facility. There are also abbreviations that are used that make no sense as they relate to how often the medication needs to be given, such as once a day or the amount that is given. One of the things that offices and hospitals can do to make sure that patients are safe when it comes to these abbreviations is to not use them. If words are spelled out, then it makes it easier for everyone to see the information and to give the proper medications and doses.
Contamination Control
If you’ve ever seen any kind of surgery, then you know that there can be a bit of smoke that comes from the instrument that is used. A smoke evacuator, which is often connected to an electrosurgical generator, is a device that is used to trap or eliminate some of the smoke that is seen with surgeries. The device will help to prevent the smoke and other particles from the body before they have time to circulate in the air. Other ways to get contamination under control include washing hands more often, setting up hand washing stations and making sure everyone wears proper attire when working with patients, such as gloves and masks.
Holding On
With elderly individuals and those who have mobility issues, it’s important to have some kind of hand rail system in place. Rails should be placed on the walls in the hallways and near doors to make it easier to enter and exit. There should also be rails along stairs to make it easier to get up and down. Large rugs that don’t slide around can be placed near entry doors to prevent slipping after coming from outside, especially if it has been raining. If the medical staff isn’t busy, then someone could assist those who have trouble walking to an exam room, to the waiting area or outside to a vehicle.
Diagnostic Testing
Doctors will often perform blood work or other services to determine what is going on with the health of the patient. If tests are done and the doctor finds that more testing is needed and doesn’t follow through, then it can impede on the safety of the patient. The doctor needs to examine the tests and the health of the patient in depth to see if there are any medications that need to be given in the future or if there are any treatment options that are available to help with the condition. The doctor should also follow up with the patient after the treatment to ensure that there are no side effects. Medical professionals should be held to the highest standards. They are working with patients’ lives in their hands. The smallest mistake could mean that someone is injured, becomes ill or even dies. If doctors and other staff pay attention and work together, then the safety of the patient will likely improve in their condition.
Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.
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The following post on strokes and patient safety was submitted by Slidell Memorial Hospital.
Are you aware that strokes are a type of disease?
Strokes disturb arteries leading to and within the brain, as well as those leading to it. They are one of the top causes of disability and death in the south. Here’s another terrifying fact: Stokes can happen to absolutely anyone.
Are you ready for some good news? You can learn the warning signs of stroke by reading below. This information just might save your life—or the life of a loved one.
Recognizing the early signs of a stroke can save a life.
What Exactly is a Stroke?
A stroke occurs once a blood vessel carrying nutrients and oxygen to the brain either has its passage blocked by a clot (an ischemic stroke) or ruptures (a hemorrhagic stroke). When deprived of the oxygen and blood needed, brain cells die. If blood flow is stopped for too long, bodily functions related to the obstructed areas can stop functioning properly.
Stroke Symptoms
Knowing what a stroke looks like can help you save someone’s life. The quicker you respond, the greater the chance of survival for the stroke victim. Thankfully, a simple acronym can help you remember and recall the symptoms of stroke: F.A.S.T.
• Face Drooping– Ask the victim if a side of their face is numb, and look to see if it appears uneven. If it is difficult to decipher, ask the victim to smile. • Arm Weakness– Ask the victim to lift up both of their arms. If one arm is too numb, weak, or falls down, this is a sign of stroke. • Speech Difficulty– Incoherent or slurred speech is an obvious symptom. Ask the victim to repeat an easy sentence back to you such as, “The dog barks.” If the sentence they repeat is slurred, the victim can’t speak at all, or has difficulty comprehending, this too is a sign. • Time to call 9-1-1– If you notice someone showing any of these signs, call 911. You should still call 911 even if the symptoms go away. Immediately take the person to the hospital, and do not wait. Be proactive. Make note of the time that these symptoms presented, and relay this to the hospital.
Although these aren’t the only signs of stroke, they’re the most typical. Some infrequent signs of stroke are vision problems, difficulty walking, and sudden confusion.
The Next Step
Like the symptoms shown above, if you notice anyone showing even one of the other symptoms, do not hesitate to call 911.
It is critical to note that the greatest issue with treating stroke is reaction time. Act swiftly and learn the signs. Visit Slidell Memorial Hospital to get evaluated.
https://www.rightpatient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/pexels-photo-for-stroke-symptoms-post-021017.jpg445800John Traderhttps://www.rightpatient.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/RightPatient-Logoup.pngJohn Trader2017-02-18 03:00:172021-07-19 07:39:18Patient Safety: Symptoms of a Stroke
The following post on patient safety in healthcare was submitted by Ian Pearson.
Too often, in this age of modernization, the human element is given short shrift. Machines build our automobiles, sew our clothes and harvest our crops. Society has decided that economy and efficiency are vital for our needs and, in most cases jobs can be done better and faster by taking humans out of the equation.
The damage to mental and emotional states can have a huge effect on procedural success and post-operation recovery.
That simply doesn’t work with health-care.
Automation works well in some fields, but it is severely lacking when it intersects with common human frailties and fears. Nowhere is this more discernable than the interaction of patients and care givers. As the pressure rises within the medical community to see more patients in less time, the patients are the ones who suffer. Not just physically, but the damage to mental and emotional states can have a huge effect on procedural success and post-operation recovery.
Simply put, people aren’t machines and they need additional care.
For most people, especially those who are not familiar with medical procedures, any kind of operation is a frightening and mysterious ritual where they have to put their physical well-being in the hands of a near-total stranger. When that person doesn’t have the time to explain – in detail – what the operation will do, the benefits that will come from the operation and the risks inherent in all surgical procedures the patient is already starting from a position of emotional weakness.
Unfamiliarity with surgical procedures when combined with obvious apprehension can make communication from the patient to the caregiver difficult. It is the doctor’s job to recognize this apprehension, to take it into account when explaining the procedure and to ensure that the patient understands all of the ramifications of what is happening
Sometimes it means holding the patient’s hand.
Clear communication and obvious empathy will go a long way towards making surgical procedures successful and make the patient feel that they aren’t just another product on an assembly line. Dehumanization is a real risk when it comes to medicine. Preventing it should be one of the top priorities for any caregiver. Especially since it can be corrected easily and quickly by keeping in mind just how frightening and mysterious these procedures are for the average patient.
Quality healthcare begins with the first visit, before any medicine is practiced, by humanizing the patient and treating them with all of the dignity and respect they should expect. Talking with them, making their concerns important and not shutting them out of all aspects of the decision making process should be the mantra of all caregivers.
It’s easy to forget that the patient is the most important part of any procedure.
From the patient’s point of view, much of the knowledge displayed by doctors is foreign. Most people do not have a medical background to fall back on when procedures are being explained to them and don’t understand the importance of different steps in the procedure, let alone talking about pre-procedural and post-procedural preparation. For most of us, once the operation is successfully over, the patient is fixed, cured or relieved of whatever ailment brought them in to the doctor’s office in the first place.
We understand, on a logical level, that there is more that needs to be done, but, emotionally, we have come through the worst of it and we will be fine going forward. One of the caregiver’s jobs is explaining that this attitude can be detrimental to the long-term healing that comes after any surgical procedure. No matter how minor an operation is, it is traumatic to the human body and there will be long-term effects from it.
Caring for this emotional side is as important as keeping the surgical instruments clean and should be taken into account when looking for a doctor to perform any procedure that you need or want done. Emotional and physical preparation – with facts, procedures and empathy – is much more important to the patient than to the doctor. A surgeon may have performed hundreds of open heart surgeries, for example, but few patients go through it more than once. The patient is much more frightened than the doctor is, believe me.
As the rate of non-critical surgical procedures rise, it becomes even more important for healthcare personnel and patients to be on the same page. As plastic surgeons in Sydney put it, dispelling misconceptions and fully explaining the risks and benefits of your procedure should be the top priority for all healthcare professionals.
Preparing yourself for the medical preparation.
As a patient, your emotional security is as important as your physical health. When looking for a doctor or hospital to conduct a medical procedure you should feel comfortable, informed and understood. You are not a cog in a great big machine; you are an individual with fears and worries that are unique to you. Finding medical support that empathizes with your concerns will go a long way toward making your procedure successful. Without your understanding of what is happening, your procedure is much less likely to be successful.
Aside from primary area of interest and expertise in business consulting, Ian could be tagged also as a passionate sports fan, nature and photography enthusiast, always trying to keep up to date with tech innovations and development, with a particular interest in trying to master the fine art of Social intelligence.
https://www.rightpatient.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/pre-procdure-patient-safety-021017.jpg481800John Traderhttps://www.rightpatient.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/RightPatient-Logoup.pngJohn Trader2017-02-11 03:00:492022-08-26 10:30:51The Importance of Pre-Procedure Preparations for Patients
