Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog

On many occasions we have discussed the staggering cost of malpractice both on patient lives and healthcare costs. Estimates suggest that each year nearly 98,000 people die and around $55 billion is spent because medical mistakes. The toll has led many experts to spend time and effort working to better understand why the errors are made and what can be done to prevent them.

One of the easiest but most effective ways to provide better care involves the use of medical checklists. Reuters recently discussed new research which highlighted the benefits. The latest data indicates that almost a third of all malpractice claims would be eliminated if checklists were used in all cases. The improvement would specifically be seen in surgeries, as the vast majority of mistakes actually occur during those operations.

The checklists include reminders of obvious but occasionally overlooked processes that are vital to proper care. They list simple acts like proper scheduling, ensuring equipment availability, marking the correct operating location, and similar actions so that the professionals ensure that nothing is overlooked.

A surgeon who has written often on the issue explained, “This kind of evidence indicates that surgeons who do not use one of these checklists are endangering patients.”

Continue reading "Malpractice Could Be Minimized With Use of Checklists" »

Official government efforts to ensure proper medical care for patients at the state level typically involves rules proscribing allowable conduct as well as clear procedures to ensure negligent doctors are prevented from harming more patients. Unfortunately, the second-prong of that approach is typically lacking.

St. Louis Today recently discussed that lax doctor disciplinary and oversight process in the state. For example, the story highlights the case of one doctor who botched eye procedures on a young infant girl. The child went in for surgery to fix a muscle in her left eye. But the doctor made a mistake and operated on the right eye. To cover up his error, the doctor lied to the family and claimed that another surgery was necessary. He then did the original procedure on the left eye. Afterwards, the doctor altered the girl’s charts to make it seem as if no mistake was made. The girl is now legally blind in one and has only minimal sight in the other.

After all of this was uncovered the doctor was reported to the state’s Board of Registration, but little to nothing was done to sanction the surgeon for his conduct. The doctor was allowed to keep seeing patients without missing a single day, and he received only a silent reprimand in his file.

As the newspaper uncovered, this lenient treatment for error-prone doctors seem to be a trend for the state’s regulatory body.

Continue reading "Problems with State’s Lax Doctor Disciplinary Process" »

The San Francisco Gate wrote a story today about one doctor’s call for improved safety measures following a medical error that affected him personally. Dr. Jose Gonzalez’s 18 month old niece was brought to a local hospital after a fall left a bump on her head. The facility conducted an MRI on the young girl to check for any problems. However, the girl’s breathing tube became dislodged during the procedure, resulting in severe brain damage.

As the doctor discovered afterwards, and our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti are well aware, these sorts of preventable medical errors occur with startling frequency across the country. Nearly 100,000 patients are killed each year due to these medical mistakes.

However, even with these staggering numbers, little is done to stem the tide. In many states it is still not even required that hospitals report when errors occur. Because of the growing problem, Dr. Gonzalez and other patients’ safety advocates are working to raise awareness of the issue. Specifically, the doctor is trying to spread knowledge of safety systems that can be implemented at hospitals to improve patient well-being.

Many “best practices” systems are used in certain hospitals that are found to drastically lower the harm to patients from medical errors. However, it is often a challenge getting hospital to adopt those best practices. The practices advocated are often simple, check-list style operations that help medical care providers cover their bases and catch potential mistakes before they cause real harm. In the case of the Dr Gonzalez’s niece, if certain checks had been performed on the girl during the procedure at clear intervals, than the dislodged tube would likely have been discovered sooner.

Please Click Here to read more about efforts to improve patient safety and catch medical mistakes before they cause damage.

A recent study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found that ambulatory surgical centers failed to prevent hospital-borne infections in 46 of the 68 surgical centers that the study examined. Researchers reported lapses in infection control in hand hygiene, injection safety, medication and handling, equipment reprocessing, environmental cleaning, and handling of blood sugar monitoring equipment. The study found that 28% of the facilities used medications in single-dose vials for multiple patients and that 32% of the facilities performing blood glucose testing did not clean and disinfect the blood glucose meters after each use. Additionally, the study found that 6% of the facilities reused items that were packaged and labeled as single-use devices and 21% of the facilities used a single lancing penlet device for multiple patients in blood glucose testing.

Ambulatory surgical centers operate exclusively to provide surgical services to patients who do not require hospitalizations or admission lasting longer than 24 hours. Between 2001 and 2008, researchers found that there was a 50% increase in the number of Medicare certified ambulatory surgical centers in the United States. During that same period of time, researchers also found a significant rise in problems relating to hygiene and safety health procedures at the Centers.

Hospital-borne infections are a serious problem facing hospitals. When a patient suffers further injury or death because of a hospital’s failure to prevent infections, hospitals may be held liable. Hospitals can prevent infections among patients by making sure that both the hospital staff and visitors regularly clean their hands with an alcohol-based hand cleaner. Hospitals should also make sure that if a patient needs an IV that it is inserted and removed under clean conditions and changed every three to four days.

For more information about the Center for Disease Control study, visit WebMD.

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a healthcare provider error, such as an infection that could have been prevented, please consult our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys to discuss your possible claim.

An Illinois woman has started a website designed to improve hospital safety entitled Campaign Zero. She began the website after Medicare discontinued reimbursing hospitals for preventable hospital hazards. The website focuses on preventing medical errors by zeroing in on what can be prevented with a little bit of knowledge. It also discusses ways in which everyone can help prevent medical error.

One area that can be improved is hospital acquired infections. Campaign Zero estimates that 2.2 million people are affected with hospital-acquired infections every year. More than 135,000 Americans wrongfully die from these hospital-acquired infections, most of which are preventable. The biggest culprit in the spread of this disease is unwashed, or poorly washed, hands. There is a simple way to prevent this medical error: to have employees simply wash their hands with soap and water. The website shows a video highlighting the easy way to wash hands and save lives.

Campaign Zero also highlights ways in which to prevent surgical error. The website’s study estimates that between 1,300 and 2,700 surgical errors occur every year in America. These include events when patients are mistaken for each other. Also, surgical tools and sponges are left behind in patients. In fact, 1 out of every 1,500 abdominal surgeries results in a left tool or sponge. The average cost of these types of surgical errors runs around $40,323. The website suggests showering before surgery and marking the part of your body that is to be operated on in order to prevent these errors. This website is a valuable tool for anyone that has a loved one in the hospital.

A detailed safety analysis conducted on behalf of Hearst Newspapers found that at least one in six of the studied facilities had preventable deaths. These occurred from common procedures, including cases in which medical instruments were left inside patients and transfusions were done incorrectly. Many hospitals have poor performance in the safety indicators developed in recent years by federal health researchers. The study found that doctors fudge death certificates, leaving out information that would point to medical errors as a prime cause of death. One woman was reported to have died of pneumonia on her death certificate. However hospital records show she initially went to the hospital for a shot of diuretic to treat leg swelling and then contracted an infection which caused the pneumonia. The CDC is aware of the inaccuracies in death certificates. They stated that medical error is “often not reported” because it gives doctors problems down the road. Some groups say that a nationwide reporting system is too expensive and too difficult to implement. However, it may decrease the amount of medical malpractice cases. To read more about the medical errors, please click the link.

Although a study conducted 10 years ago stated that a mandatory nationwide reporting system for medical errors was imperative, one still does not exist today. The AMA and the American Hospital Association vehemently opposed an attempt by President Clinton to create a mandatory reporting system for serious errors. The groups launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign that said mandatory reporting would drive medical errors underground. If medical errors and infections were better tracked, they would top the list of accidental deaths. The recent study by Hearst Newspapers state that approximately 99,000 patients a year die as a result medical error. To read more about the mandatory reporting system, please click the links.

An issue of Women's Health this summer touched upon issues that concern a lot of Levin & Perconti blog readers - how to avoid medical mishaps. We wanted to share the startling statistics that the magazine provided. Each year, nearly 1.5 million Americans are injured by medication errors and up to 98,000 die in hospital due to medical errors. To avoid being a victim, Women's Health suggested that you always check your prescriptions, find rested workers, and personalize your case file.

To read more about how to take control of your medical care.

A new Medicare study claims that too many people are dying needless deaths within hospitals and are carelessly turning out patients after short stays that end up back in the hospital within 30 days. John Rumsfeld of the Denver VA Medical Center and chief science officer for the American College of Cardiology's National Data Registry, called this a “double failure” of our healthcare system. Death rates in hospitals below the national average tend to be in the nation’s smallest and poorest counties. Currently, organizations are trying to disseminate information to patients in order to educate them on health care and help them seek out higher standards of care. If you feel you have been a victim of medical malpractice or medical negligence, you should consider consulting a medical malpractice attorney.

Read more about Medicare’s hospital study here.

Less than half of all Medicare recipients get a stress test before having common non-emergency procedures to reopen blocked coronary arteries, despite the fact that The American Heart Associations recommend it. A cardiac stress test, which is used to measure blood flow to the heart during exercise, can help determine who’s likely to benefit from procedures such as balloon angioplasty, in which a tiny balloon is used to reopen a blocked artery. A study in the Journal of American Medical Association found that only 44 percent of Medicare patients surveyed had a stress test before surgery. The article also stated that there might be confusion among doctors about when to choose surgical intervention over drug therapy for the treatment of coronary-artery disease. The article also linked doctors’ Medicare payment to how closely they follow these recommendations which could prevent unnecessary surgical procedures and medical malpractice suits. To read the full story, click here.

Doctors say that medical mistakes can have more serious consequences in children than they do in adults. A study in the journal Pediatrics found that problems due to medications occurred in 11 percent of children who were in the hospital, and that 22 percent of them were preventable. An Institute of Medicine report found that besides medication errors, children are also the victims of diagnostic errors, incorrect procedures or tests, infections and injuries. Medical errors are a greater threat to children than to adults because they are physically small and their immune systems are still developing. Even a tiny increase in the dose of medication can have serious effects, especially in premature babies. Children deteriorate more rapidly than adults and they are less able to communicate their problems. 32 percent of medication errors in children in the operating room involved the wrong dose, while this only occurs in 14 percent of adults. Experts have come up with ways to reduce the threat of medical malpractice in children such as ID bracelets, ensuring that health care providers are hygienic, getting all the correct information, and asking questions. Although these are ways to reduce risks, it is ultimately the role of the physicians and staff to ensure that children are properly medicated. To read the full story, click here.

A study in the May issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery shows that the rate of limb amputation is higher in Chicago’s black communities than in suburban white communities. The data showed that blacks in Chicago are five times more likely to have a limb amputated than suburban whites. Notably, many amputations are preventable. Limb amputations can often be the product of low quality health care and doctor errors, poor access to health care resources, and a doctor's failure to give information about procedures and treatments. One of the more common causes of amputations is untreated pressure sores that may result from diabetes and heart disease.

Read the news story here.

A recent op-ed article scrutinized health care oversight. The article argued that there is no reason that any consumer seeking preventive care should risk death while seeking routine medical care at the hands of a profiteering physician. When culpability in a medical malpractice lawsuit becomes revealed, there is no reason that others with close ties to a bad doctor should remain in positions of oversight. The article concludes that a full-scale, top-to-bottom failure of government systems have allowed years of risky behavior to put others at risk of medical malpractice.

For the full article.

Around 47 million Americans don't have health care, but even those that do agree that problems in the United States healthcare system need reform. In a recent article, 10 health care experts offered their personal suggestions on how to improve the country's situation.

1. Mend the medical schools
2. Single-payer insurance (creating a national system)
3. Individual, not company, plans
4. Divert the dollar to the doc
5. Pay for the care of populations, not events (high quality preventive care)
6. Cut costs for med students
7. Eliminate insurance all together
8. More health centers (affordable, community health centers)
9. Stimulating positive-sum competition (giving more info to providers and consumers)
10. Keep it low-tech (low-tech approaches to preventive healthcare)

Click here to read the descriptions of the experts who offered these ideas, in addition to more information about each view.

The Illinois Hospital Report Card, the Illinois Consumer Guide to Health Care and another project meant to monitor medical malpractice issues in Illinois hospitals were groundbreaking and exciting initiatives passed in the state in the last four years. However, not much has been done to follow through on these laws. The Chicago Patient Safety Forum has been a strong critic of the delays in implementation even though last year's Patient Safety Summit in Chicago produced few results. The purpose of the laws was to provide the public with information about their doctors and the medical mistakes they make as well as the hospitals and issues like hospital-acquired infections.

One goal of this legislation was to examine instances of medical malpractice such as birth injuries and surgical errors. The Illinois Hospital Report Card was meant to monitor hospital-acquired infections and if the hospitals are adequately screening patients. It also was to focus on the quality and skills of nursing staffs. The lack of progress has been blamed on problems with the legislation itself, a lack of funding and staff, and bureaucratic delays. Legislators and other officials alike, such as the Illinois Hospital Association, have stated that patients have the right to be informed about their doctors and hospitals.

Click here for the full article

Illinois participated in the nation-wide trend to pass legislation making it mandatory to publish health care "report cards" disclosing information about hospital acquired infections and medical malpractice. But while over a dozen states have begun posting the information on the internet, Illinois has yet to move forward with the initiative. Many states publish more specific report cards dealing with "never events," or mistakes that should never happen, but do. Some examples of "never events" include performing surgery on the wrong patient or body part and other inexcusable examples of negligence. Illinois plans to publish a report, but progress has yet to be seen.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced officially that beginning in October 2008 expenses incurred from medical mistakes made by health care providers will no longer be eligible for reimbursement. Providers will also be prohibited from charging patients for these expenses. Private insurers will likely follow suit. Medical malpractice is a pervasive problem for health care in Illinois and in America as a whole. Each year, 1.5 million patients are injured and thousands die from medical errors. The expenses resulting from these mistakes add up, averaging about $29 billion in additional care services and loss of productivity. It is yet to be determined how CMS will determine what the appropriate standard of care is, and it will also have to define "preventable errors" in cases of medical malpractice.

All patients being treated in hospitals, whether for serious surgery or routine procedures, should be made aware of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA), an infection acquired during hospitalization. 100,000 people die of MRSA annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of every 22 patients will acquire an infection during hospitalizations totaling 1.7 million patients a year. It is also estimated that out of that group, 99,000 would die. MRSA has recently been proven as avoidable in many cases. Pittsburgh Veterans Hospital has cracked down on doctor hygiene and hospital cleanliness, while taking other minor precautions and has noticed a decrease in MRSA infections. According to the hospital's chief of staff, "the infection control program cost about $500,000 a year, including test kits, salaries for 3 workers, and the $175-per-patient cost of gloves, gowns and hand sanitizer. The hospital... realized a net savings of nearly $900,000 when the number of infected patients fell." Hospitals should take note, especially since Medicare will no longer pay for "preventable" conditions induced by carelessness or medical malpractice in hospitals. One of the "preventable" categories is certain types of hospital-acquired infections. The hospitals themselves will have to cover these often enormous amounts.

Continue reading "Avoidable infections acquired in hospitals kill 100,000 a year" »

The American Cancer Society has recently produced an ad campaign stressing the need of adequate quality health care for Americans in order to lower cancer death rates. Among the poorly insured and uninsured, cancer is most often detected at an advanced stage, too frequently proving fatal. The American Cancer Society's goals of reducing cancer death and incidence rates by 2015, beginning in 1990, will not be met unless access to screening and treatment becomes available to all patients. The society's chief executive stated that, "lack of access will be a bigger cancer killer than tobacco," unless the health care system is amended. The delay in diagnosing poorly or uninsured patients causes them to bear the costs of more expensive and difficult treatments. Within families afflicted with cancer, one in four will use most or all of their savings, including one in five insured families, to fight the disease. 47 million Americans do not have health insurance, and millions more only have limited coverage. Access to health care for all Americans will lower cancer death rates, among innumerable other health ailments.

Click here for the full article

The Illinois legislature has passed, and the governor has signed, legislation requiring the screening of hospital patients for drug-resistant staph infections. The MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) infections infect over a million patients and kill tens of thousands every year. MRSA is the most common infection acquired in hospitals and Illinois is leading the nation in confronting the controversial issue. The law becomes effective immediately. Hospitals are now required to test all patients in intensive care units for MRSA and isolate patients with the bacteria. The bill was controversial because some hospital infection control practitioners claimed it would hinder response times to emergency threats. The same group introduced legislation requiring hospitals to prevent the spread of infection by analyzing which infections posed the most risks at different facilities. Although this bill was intended to replace the MRSA bill, both were passed into law. Fortunately for patients, the bills are aimed at protecting patients from unnecessarily contracting dangerous infections in hospitals.

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