Common Patient Safety Issues

Health care consumers benefit from understanding some of the issues involved in providing them with the best care, and some things they can do themselves to prepare for and learn about these issues. Doctors, nurses, and other health professionals dedicate their lives to caring for their patients. But providing health care can be complicated. There are often multiple steps involved in a health care visit.

 A number of different medical staff may be take part in the care of a single patient. And patients may be confused by unfamiliar words and technical language. Although hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices take many steps to keep their patients safe, medical errors can happen. Often, medical errors (also called adverse events) happen when there is a single misstep in a chain of activities. Researchers and experts in the field of patient safety have identified a number of ongoing patient safety challenges. Below are descriptions of some of the most common and worrisome issues.

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1.      Medication Errors

One of the most common inpatient errors is medication errors, but a new study published by Massachusetts General Hospital in October 2015 uncovered nearly half of all surgeries have some form of medication error. Documentation errors, incorrect dosage, mistakes in labeling and neglecting to treat a problem indicated by a patient’s vital signs were the the most frequently cited medication errors. “We definitely have room for improvement in preventing perioperative medication errors, and now that we understand the types of errors that are being made and their frequencies, we can begin to develop targeted strategies to prevent them,” said Karen Nanji, MD, lead author of the study.

2.      Diagnostic Errors

6 to 17% of hospital adverse events and about 10% of patient deaths were due to diagnostic errors, according to “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” a 2015 report by the Institute of Medicine. Also included in the report were several possible solutions as outlined by IOM to improve this severe patient safety issue. A leading suggestion was enhanced teamwork among healthcare workers.

3.      Proper Discharge Procedures

A patient’s discharge is a critical moment in their care and safety. This issue is getting more focus now that the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement is holding hospitals accountable for 90 days post-discharge if any complications arise.

4.      Sterilization Problems

Unpleasant as it is to think about, hospitals have cited a resurgence in infections due to reprocessing issues. Following the proper protocol while sterilizing previously used medical scopes, tools and devices is mandatory, yet issues still persist.

5.      Transparency Issues

“When everyone — physicians, patients, institutions, and the press — is privy to data on performance, physicians will develop a greater sense of accountability to deliver quality care,” Ashish K. Jha, MD, a patient safety researcher at Harvard University’s School of Public Health in Cambridge, Mass., wrote in a post on Harvard Business Review in October. A heightened sense of transparency encourages quality improvement and facilitates discussion around issues that administration may not be aware of.

6.      Cybersecurity of Medical Devices

Since 2011 cybersecurity of personal medical devices has been on the radar, but recently hospital network security has come into question. Hospital networks carry vulnerable information – patient history, sensitive financial data, and specific health knowledge – that can be easily hacked by the many devices connected to the network.  Solutions are currently being developed, but this will be a continuous issue for the foreseeable future.

7.      Superbugs

As defined by Brian K. Coombes, PhD of McMaster University in Ontario, superbugs are bacteria that cannot be treated with two or more antibiotics. Recently, scientists in China discovered “super” superbugs – bacteria resistant to ALL antibiotics. These superbugs and “super” superbugs are only getting stronger, and a cry for caution and proper antibiotic practices have come onto to the horizon with intensified vigor.

87,000 patient deaths were prevented due to a 17% decrease of hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2014, according to an HHS report released in December 2015. Though this is an inspiring statistic, more can always be done in the journey to a zero patient harm healthcare system