Help Prevent Medical Errors in Your Care

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Paulette Russell Wilson, PhD, RN

The Joint Commission has a new program called “Speak Up”.  The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has reported that medical errors are a serious problem in America’s healthcare system.  Public awareness of the problem may be part of the solution.

As a patient, you can help in reduce the incidence of errors in your care by taking a part in the decisions for your own care.  Learn as much as you can about your diagnosis, medical tests and treatments.  Research shows that patients who take part in their care decisions and communicate well with their physicians have better outcomes of care.

How can you Speak Up about your care and become a decision-maker in your care?  Here are just a few ideas.

Ask questions when you do not understand and ask again when necessary, because you have the right to know.  Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask about

• safety related to an upcoming surgery,
• when you think you might have been given the wrong medication,
• whether or not the medicine you are taking can be taken with the over the counter drugs you are taking,
• if you think you have been confused with another patient, and
• how to measure a liquid medication to get the correct dose.

For hospital stays Pay Attention to the care you are receiving.  You can play an important role in preventing hospital errors by:

• telling your doctor or nurse when something about your care just does not seem right (Speak Up),
• reminding healthcare givers to wash their hands before doing a procedure or giving you care,
• having a trusted family member or significant other as an advocate when you need support or help with remembering or making decisions about your care, and
• expecting that all healthcare workers wear identification badges so you know who is taking care of you.

Other actions you can do to assist in preventing errors in your care are:

• Inform healthcare workers, in charge of your care, about all the important medical information about you, such as, allergies and herbal supplements you might be taking.  Don’t make assumptions that they already know the information they need to know.
• Make sure you know who is in charge of your care such as your personal doctor.
• Ask about test results. Do not assume that “no news is good news”.
• Validate by asking your doctor if your treatment recommendations are based on the latest scientific evidence. 

Staying informed about your care prevents medical errors.  For more information about scientific evidence based care see this website:  http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/*