Sabtu, 20 November 2010

Protecting Against Medical Mistakes

Even medical professionals are liable to make mistakes now and then. Even if you are confined in a reputable hospital does not necessarily mean that you are already safe. It may sometimes take some vigilance on your part to make sure that you can protect yourself from certain medical mistakes. Here are some of the ways how to do it.

Always insist on cleanliness.

When staying at the hospital, you might come into contact with several health professionals who try to look into your welfare. Before they do, try to ask if they have washed their hands. Although it is standard procedure for health professionals to do so before giving medication, changing a wound dressing or removing an IV, it pays to remind them in order to make sure.

Look into the safest hospitals and health facilities in your area.

It really pays to do some bit of research on which hospitals in your area are considered to be the safest ones. You can get inputs from colleagues, relatives and friends. This way, you can have a choice to be confined to a health facility that you know will be safe and where medical mistakes may be less likely to occur.

Avoid being a distraction.

Although you try to have talks with doctors or nurses who are attending to your care, you might try to avoid becoming a distraction. Friendly chitchat may be a cause if interruption that might easily distract the hospital staff from administering your medicines or doing a sensitive procedure.

Get informed.

Try to have a good idea why certain things are being done to you while being confined at the hospital. Have a better grasp of what your doctor or the medical staff might be doing and find out the reason behind them. Try to ask the reason behind the medications being administered to you as well as the tests you have to undergo.

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