What exactly was the promise of the electronic medical record? The tool that was supposed to make life easier, workflow faster, quality of care better, and patients’ lives healthier has pretty much turned into a face-plant; a promise unfulfilled. Although there are some notable exceptions, the market has shifted to the large electronic health record companies, and medical record content and speed and quality are not their highest priority.
Failure to diagnose is the most common medical error in the practice of emergency, urgent care and primary care medicine. Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is one of the most difficult conditions to diagnose, but there are common threads among failure to diagnose spinal epidural abscess cases. This case is presented to provide perspective and to increase our vigilance for catching this disabling and possibly even fatal diagnosis.
Malpractice claims continue to plague the specialty of Obstetrics. In the 2015 ACOG Survey on Professional Liability, a total of 4,294 physicians responded; 73.6% had at least one claim filed against them during their careers. There were 1,117 total claims reported by the surveyed OB-GYN physicians, with 63.5% of these claims involving obstetric care, and the remaining 36.5% involving gynecological care.
Triage is an essential part of any busy emergency department (ED), but one that is often taken for granted. While triage is not designed to determine the cause of the patient’s symptoms, it prioritizes the patient’s need to be seen by a provider. EDs often assume (possibly erroneously) that triage assessments are being performed correctly or that any errors in triage can be corrected when the medical screening is done. Both of these assumptions can lead to serious adverse patient events.
The uncommon but lethal infection known as necrotizing fasciitis continues to be in the news. This is a devastating disease that can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages. The first presentation is often nothing more than arm or leg pain that looks very much like garden-variety musculoskeletal discomfort. By the time the diagnosis is made, the disease process is often too far along to reverse it, resulting in severe disability or death. However, there are usually a few clinical clues that a more dangerous process is under way.
The temperatures are rising, and school sports are starting long practices in all kinds of weather. During intense exercise, people can lose up to 1.5 liters of fluid per hour. Summer is prime time for pediatric patients to sustain heat-related illnesses, and these patients may present to the emergency department in some distress.
[4 MIN READ]
Most predicaments in which James Bond finds himself require clever improvisation to achieve a good outcome. Bond knows that every mission entails huge risks that are largely unpredictable. In contrast, the risks of surgery are recognized in advance, and the procedures go according to plan in the vast majority of cases. Despite proactive safety measures, claims against surgeons continue to occur regularly for bad outcomes. It has been estimated that approximately 80 surgical never events occurred each week between 1990 and 2010.
Patient experience has emerged as one of the most important aspects of medical training in today’s healthcare environment. Patients are not only demanding satisfaction in their experience, they are researching hospital and provider satisfaction ratings to make sure others have had a positive experience prior to seeking medical care themselves.
The majority of animal and insect bites and stings are harmless and can be managed at home. However, there are many that can cause a medical concern, some more acute than others. Read these 10 secrets to brush up on your approach to the patient who presents with a bite or sting this summer.
[3 MIN READ]
“It’s all about communication!”
The world of medicine has changed by leaps and bounds over recent decades. Computers are part of our daily lives, and technological advances have significantly improved our ability to diagnose and treat diseases that were once thought incurable.
Despite this incredible progress, healthcare providers continue to commit far too many medical errors. And unfortunately, many of these mistakes are simply caused by “poor communication.”
