How to Avoid Hospital Medical Mistakes During These Difficult Days and Times
There are some steps you can take to avoid being injured or made sicker during a hospital stay:
The most obvious: If at all possible, don't be admitted to the hospital during any of the times listed previously. For any sort of pre-scheduled testing, surgery or observation, avoiding these times should be fairly simple. Further, if you do have time to consider your hospital stay, you may be able to choose which hospital is safest to begin with.
During an emergency, you may not be able to avoid a hospital stay, and you may not have your choice of hospitals, especially if you are out-of-town. Here are some steps to take if you do end up in the hospital during one of these more challenging and dangerous times:
- Have an advocate by your side 24/7. That person should be willing to question every drug ordered for you, and willing to ask every person who will touch you to wash his or her hands. You can choose a friend, a loved one, a private patient advocate, or a combination of these folks for this around-the-clock vigilance.
- If possible, ask personnel for their names, and befriend the ones you like. Human nature says they will more likely double check your care if they have gotten to know you a little.
- Know what doctor is on duty at all times, even when the shift changes, and how that person will be reached. You want to be sure someone is right there in the hospital if an emergency pops up, or if there is a question that doctor needs to answer. You may find the hospital has a hospitalist available at all times, or you may find that the doctor is a phone call away. Some questions, even emergencies, can be handled by phone, but not all can.
- Don't let the hospital discharge you too early, just because the holidays are approaching or if you think you aren't ready to go home. If you feel like you aren't ready, and they are insisting on discharging you anyway, get the hospital's patient advocate or a social worker involved to advocate on your behalf.
- On the other hand, don't stay too long if you can help it, especially during these times when staff is leaner. You may actually be safer at home where infections may not be as likely, as long as you have assistance when you get home.
Smart patients control their hospital stays and hospital environments as much as possible, even during difficult hospital staffing times, to give themselves the best chance for a safe hospital stay.
