March 10th through 16th marks this year’s annual National Patient Safety Awareness Week, a public health campaign that raises awareness about healthcare safety. Supported by the Center for Patient Safety (CPS) and sponsored by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, or IHI, this year’s theme is Safer Together. Safety experts at the CPS selected this year’s theme because it emphasizes the importance of safety throughout the entire healthcare team, from the providers and support staff to patients and their loved ones.
According to recent data from Johns Hopkins and the Risk Management Foundation at the Harvard Medical Institutions, approximately 795,000 Americans die or suffer permanent disabilities each year due to preventable medical mistakes. The researchers found that about three-quarters of serious medical harms occur in conjunction with infections, cancers and vascular events. Here are some of the researchers’ other pertinent findings:
Medical errors most regularly result from misdiagnoses, delayed diagnoses, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, birth injuries and failure to treat. According to the CPS and IHI, the top seven patient safety issues in healthcare are the following:
The agencies that spearhead the campaign say that some of the most effective and meaningful steps the healthcare system can take towards bettering patient safety outcomes include:
When medical providers forget or fail to take seemingly simple steps, like maintaining the cleanliness of a patient’s room or practicing proper hand hygiene, it can — and far too often does — make the difference between life and death.
Although some medical mistakes are unavoidable, others occur when a doctor, hospital, or medical provider is negligent and causes harm to a patient. These types of mistakes, or medical malpractice, occurs when a provider or medical facility fails to follow their own professional standards of care, causing injury or death. At Galfand Berger, our attorneys have tirelessly fought on behalf of victims of medical malpractice for decades. Here are just a few examples of our firm’s recoveries:
If you have questions or concerns about a medical-related injury, illness, or disability or death, someone at our firm can help. Contact a representative online now.
If you have questions about filing a claim for injuries you sustained, contact the Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys at Galfand Berger LLP today. Call us at 800-222-USWA (8792) or fill out our online form for a free consultation. Located in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Lancaster, and Reading, we serve clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Allentown and Harrisburg.