While the health care industry in New York has taken great strides toward eliminating prescription medication errors, there are still instances that lead to higher levels of mistakes. This is dangerous given that medication errors can lead to adverse and sometimes even fatal reactions between different medications.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning residents of New York and other states that sepsis can be a fatal condition. Sepsis occurs when the body’s natural defenses against infection cause an extreme inflammatory response.
When patients visit emergency rooms in New York, medical personnel face challenges in collecting accurate information about medications. Electronic medical records might contain previous errors about medications, or physicians and nurses might lack the time and expertise to fully investigate patients’ medication histories. A study that appeared in BMJ Quality & Safety examined these problems and concluded that medication errors represented the most common reason that inpatients experienced injuries in hospitals.
What’s being called the world’s smallest 3D-printed biopsy robot could improve the accuracy of biopsies needed to take a tissue sample to confirm a diagnosis of breast cancer, which is the most common cancer in women. This technology could also make the process of getting a biopsy less time-consuming for women in New York while also minimizing the potential for human error. Nearly 2 million women have the procedure each year to examine a suspicious lump or an imaging abnormality.
Worries about being mistreated while under anesthesia are some of the most pervasive fears New York patients have when entering the hospital for surgery. One lawsuit reflects these fears coming to life for a hospital worker who was photographed nude while on the operating table.
New York residents that suffer from certain medical conditions may be at a higher risk than others of being misdiagnosed. According to research, a misdiagnosis is the end result for millions of visits to the doctor each year. Medical conditions that are misdiagnosed or missed have the potential to worsen or become fatal.
While most people hope for the best during any routine medical procedure, many people in New York and around the country have been affected by a doctor’s mistake. One serious mistake doctors have made is operating on the wrong patient.
Multiple sclerosis affects many New York residents. This condition is often misdiagnosed, leading people to receive unnecessary or incorrect treatment. Now, the McDonald criteria, which are used to diagnose MS, have been revised to help to improve the accuracy of diagnoses of the disease.
On Dec. 14, it was reported that a bill that could make it easier for cancer patients to file medical malpractice claims was sitting unsigned on the governor’s desk. Called Lavern’s Law, this bill would extend the window of time that patients in New York and elsewhere around the country could initiate medical malpractice cases concerning cancer to when they discover the error. As the bill stands, the two-and-a-half-year time limit starts when the mistake actually happened.
According to a recent study, more than one-half of patients diagnosed with optic neuritis may have another condition affecting their eyesight. The study also suggests that the misdiagnosis is usually due to a limited patient history. Individuals in New York receiving this diagnosis may consider a second opinion.
