Our Mission at Avoid Medical Errors

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Pat Iyer

Have you ever

  • Feared that you or a loved one could be hurt by medical errors?
  • Wanted to know how you could be empowered to keep safe in the healthcare system?
  • Wondered how you could be an advocate for a loved one to avoid medical malpractice?
  • Felt powerless like no one was listening to your concerns about your health care?
  • Wondered how you could be healthier so you would not need as much medical care?

    • The mission of Avoid Medical Errors is to help you to stay healthy and to avoid becoming the victim of a medical error. You will receive critical information and tips to teach you, as a healthcare consumer, how to ask questions, be empowered, and to seek safe health care. You will get both a free magazine written by medical/legal experts and the opportunity for indepth essential help from our paid membership site.

    You will learn from our president’s expertise. Avoid Medical Errors was born from the experience of our president, Patricia Iyer RN MSN LNCC, in her work with medical malpractice attorneys. Over the past 24 years she has seen thousands of people injured by the healthcare system, and she want to share information to help you become a good patient advocate for yourself and your loved ones. Patricia is an authority on the topic of nursing and medical malpractice. She has coauthored or edited more than 25 medical legal texts. As a speaker and author, she has shared her expert knowledge with audiences of nurses, attorneys, paralegals and physicians.

    Posted in Medical errors, Medical malpractice, Medication errors | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    Frivolous lawsuits – are they real?

    Posted on May 28, 2012 by Pat Iyer

    signing a contractRecently a person who I don’t know (I will call him Bill) emailed me this link to a 2003 Newsweek article called “Lawsuit Hell”. Essentially the article recounts many instances of lawsuits and how they’ve changed people’s behavior. The site that linked to this article had this sentence, which I missed the first time I saw it: [Yurica Report Editor's Note: This article has been refuted by Anthony J. Sebok and by Joanne Doroshow. In order to understand why it is wrong we strongly urge our readers to read the opposition articles.]

    Bill asked for my opinion about it, I told him it was biased. He asked me, “IYHO, has the legal and cultural climate in many institutions in
    America gone the way the article says it has – in large part out of
    fear of such lawsuits?”

    Here is my response. If you decide to read the Newsweek article, please also read the comments of Sebok and Doroshow.

    Dear Bill,
    I can only speak to health care and what it is trying to do to make the environment safer. There is a tremendous emphasis on quality improvement, improving communications, and having the healthcare team truly work together as a team. I envision the healthcare environment having a large safety net under it to catch errors. Unfortunately the safety net will never have a mesh so fine that errors will not slide through.

    The whole tone of this article is to heap hatred on plaintiff attorneys. That is the bias I reacted to. Without plaintiff attorneys holding companies accountable for following safe practices, your life would be at risk every time a company had to make a decision about profits over safety. Plaintiff attorneys have brought attention to defective products, procedures, and situations. If you live in a garage with a door opener that stops if it encounters an obstruction, it was designed that way because a child was crushed under a door that did not have the sensor. The equipment manufacturers were forced to change as a result of that child’s death.

    Health care has been forced to change as well. In my opinion, there are not enough lawsuits that include in their terms that the organization must make changes as part of the settlement or verdict, but some agencies change on their own after they realize how the patient got harmed within their system. Others keep repeating the same mistakes. Because hospitals usually do not talk to each other about the errors occurring with their walls, the same mistakes are repeated in the building down the road. The government has stepped in and required mandatory reporting of certain types of errors, and has refused to pay for medical care associated with certain types of errors. Private payors have followed along. If your loved one gets an advanced pressure sore in a hospital today, it is very likely the hospital will not get paid for that care, for example. These are called Never Events.

    It is easy for a journalist to assemble this kind of inflammatory article from fragments of stories, written in 2003, and pose a picture of a country filled with frivolous lawsuits. The realities today are very different. The plaintiff attorney has to fund the lawsuit. Few plaintiffs have $50,000 to pursue a medical malpractice claim. Attorneys are therefore very selective about the cases they take. It is easy to make fun of the defensive tactics some companies or organizations have taken to avoid being sued, but the realities are that there are a large number of companies that have taken short cuts and then gotten caught.

    The insurance industry has undertaken vigorous public relations efforts to discourage frivolous lawsuits. Ads on buses, articles, education, propaganda – called different things depending on your bias have impacted people. many jurors have responded with smaller or no verdicts on cases that they hear. We have swung so far the other way that I see cases that clearly should have resulted in the plaintiff getting compensation for the medical error that harmed her, and yet callous jurors disagreed.

    The Newsweek article tries to simplify a complex subject and does not reflect 2012 realities. Thank you for asking and making me think about why the article irritated me so much.
    Regards,
    Pat

    Patricia Iyer is president of Avoid Medical Errors. She has assisted medical malpractice attorneys since 1987.

    Posted in hospital medical negligence, Medical malpractice, Never Events, Tort reform, what is medical malpractice, what is medical negligence | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

    Compassion Fatigue and Medical Errors

    Posted on May 24, 2012 by Pat Iyer

    Compassion fatigue is a condition that often affects caregivers, such as people caring for a loved one at home, and those in the helping professions, such as nursing, medicine, social work and so on. It is most common in people who have a high commitment to caring for others at the expense of themselves. People who are both taking care of others, plus trying to handle high stress situations are especially vulnerable to compassion fatigue.

    Compassionate professionals and caregivers tend to be strong people. They are often asked to take on more than the average person would be expected to handle. Because of their compassionate nature, they tend to say yes when asked to help another, even when their own resources are low. This can lead to a loss of balance between caring for others and self-care.

    Research shows that long-term exposure to people in severe pain, suffering, or trauma is often linked to compassion fatigue. Family members may be responsible for an aged parent or a child with extraordinary medical needs. Nurses and other professionals at risk work in burn units, oncology, hospice and other areas where patients have prolonged suffering or extreme trauma.

    Two factors that contribute to compassion fatigue are long-term or chronic exposure to extreme suffering and the lack of awareness or attention to the gradually increasing signs of fatigue. Additional factors in the healthcare work setting include lack of organizational support, overwhelming workload due to short staffing, and the tendency for caring professionals to tend to the needs of others to the point of ignoring their own needs. Nursing staff, for example, may be unable to take meal breaks and even find it difficult to get away to use the bathroom.

    Compassion fatigue does not happen overnight; it happens over time. The strong value for serving others to the detriment of one’s own health, while working under chronic stressful conditions is a formula for fatigue that contributes to medical errors.

    A person who is developing compassion fatigue is often not able to see what is happening. It’s a nurse manager, a coworker or someone in close relationship to the caregiver who is in the best position to identify the signs of compassion fatigue.

    Signs of compassion fatigue can include:
    • Preoccupation and lack of attention to detail
    • Poor concentration, focus, and judgment
    • Complaining about or not wanting to come to work or about the needs of a loved one you are caring for at home
    • Worrying about patients on days off
    • Memory issues
    • Loss of objectivity
    • Emotional oversensitivity
    • Emotional out bursts or mood swings
    • Visible frustration or anxiety
    • Avoidance or desensitization
    • Weight gain
    • Low energy
    • Sleep deprivation
    • Exhaustion

    With the proper help a person can recover from compassion fatigue. The first step in recovery is to recognize that there’s a problem. The next step is to get appropriate help. Learning how to care and be compassionate, while maintaining clear boundaries is a skill most caregivers have never learned. The person will need to put in place effective daily self-care habits, recognize emotional and physical cues and learn to set limits.

    Today’s healthcare environment can feel overwhelming at times for professional and personal caregivers. It’s important for staff to recognize that when they take on more than their share of the burden, the need for more help may not be seen. A compassionate person who is out of balance actually creates more problems. A burned out caregiver at home may need respite care, or a break, more than she realizes. (Women are more often in the caregiver role than men.)

    Tips for preventing compassion fatigue
    • Established daily health habits for eating regularly drinking water and taking deep breaths periodically
    • Build enjoyable movement or exercise into your week.
    • Create an environment and rituals for adequate sleep
    • Express your emotions through art, journaling, or talking with a trusted friend
    • Know your limits and don’t compromise quality care by exceeding your limits.
    • Notice what energizes you and what drains your energy. Let this knowledge guide your choices.
    • Create opportunities for talking about difficult situations.
    • Learn to recognize the signs of compassion fatigue in yourself and others.
    • Seek professional counseling or guidance when needed
    • Value self-care for yourself and encourage self-care in others

    We cannot afford to lose our most caring and compassionate people to the risks of compassion fatigue. It’s important to remember the advice we are given every time we fly in a plane. “Put your mask on first!” We are not told to ignore the other person. We are only cautioned to be sure that our own resources are adequate when we reach out to help them. This is good advice in every caregiving situation.

    ——————————————
    Aila AccadAila Accad, RN, MSN is an award-winning international speaker, bestselling author and certified coach and EFT advanced practitioner & trainer, who specializes in quick ways to release stress and empower your life. A member of the National Speakers Association, she is a popular keynote speaker and radio and television guest. Her bestselling book “34 Instant Stress-Busters, Quick tips to de-stress fast with no extra time or money” is available at www.stressbustersbook.com. Sign up for De-Stress Tips & News at www.ailaspeaks.com and receive a gift, “Ten Instant Stress Busters” e-book. learn how to stay healthy and be an informed patient. Receive your free digital monthly magazine, Avoid Medical Errors magazine at www.avoidmedicalerrors.com.

    Posted in High risk behavior, Medical errors, Medical malpractice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

    Why is health care so expensive?

    Posted on May 21, 2012 by Pat Iyer

    Decoding Your Medical Bills
    Created by: Medical Billing and Coding Certification

    Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

    Medical Errors Conference next month

    Posted on May 17, 2012 by Pat Iyer

    We’ve received notice of a conference next month in Ontario. The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions wants to let you know about an upcoming conference being held on June 4th, 2012 in Toronto, ON. The conference will feature the contributors to William Charney’s book “Epidemic of Medical Errors and Hospital Acquired Infections: Systemic and Social Causes” as well as other leading medical industry professionals.

    During the course of this conference, we hope to accomplish two things: 1) inform the medical industry about the severity of the Epidemic of Medical Errors in the United States and Canada and 2) determine a course of action to be taken to
    reprogram these elements and build a team to start the change.

    For more information about the conference and the people involved please visit here.

    You can also read our latest press release here

    Please feel free to contact Cherie with any questions you may have.

    Cherie Avery
    Business Manager
    Phone:(206) 501-4551

    Posted in Medical errors | Tagged , | Leave a comment

    Sterilization performed without consent

    Posted on May 14, 2012 by Pat Iyer

    tubal ligation, sterilization, mistaken sterilizationA thirty-two year-old mother delivered her third child by cesarean section. After the delivery, her obstetrician tied her tubes. The plaintiff complained the sterilization was done without her knowledge or consent. During a routine prenatal visit the plaintiff claimed that she had stated she did not want her tubes tied after the cesarean section, which was written in the obstetrician’s records. There was no written consent form for the sterilization. The obstetrician claimed that the nurse at the delivery approached him before the delivery and said that the patient had informed her that she wanted to have her tubes tied. The nurse had no recollection of the conversation. The cesarean section was the only consent in the records. The patient’s chart showed that the nurse had prepared the sutures for the tubal ligation and had taken the removed portions of the tubes to the lab. She had no memory of doing this.

    The case was settled against the nurse. The defendant obstetrician claimed the patient could have reversal of the tubal ligation or could have more children with in vitro fertilization. A $490,000 settlement was reached in this Virginia case.

    Source: Lewis Laska, Editor, Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements and Experts, November 2010, page 27

    Comments:     Nurses are well informed that surgical procedures require consents. It is common practice to add a tubal ligation to a cesarean section consent form when the woman desires sterilization. The surgical nurses verifies that the consent is signed and witnessed. Witnessing the signature means that the patient appears to understand what she is signing. Nurses can perform this function. Surgeons also commonly obtain informed consent and witness the form.

    This interesting Virginia case hinged on the fleeting memories of healthcare workers involved in one surgical procedure among hundreds or thousands performed annually. The absence of the informed consent made it impossible for the nurse to prove the patient requested a sterilization. The obstetrician relied on the nurse to make sure that the consent was signed. However, the obstetrician’s office records showed the patient did not want a tubal ligation and yet he or she went ahead in a rote way and performed the unwanted surgery. Reversal of tubal ligation is not often successful, and in vitro fertilization is a complicated undertaking that is often not covered by insurance policies. Both the nurse and the obstetrician fell through the holes in the safety net of health care.

    Patricia Iyer MSN RN LNCC is a former medical surgical nurse who witnessed many consents of patients over the years.

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    Posted in Children, medical malpractice cases, Obstetrics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment