New Mexico residents should know that medical experts who testified on Capitol Hill on July 18 are worried about physician errors. They said that not enough is done to curb deaths and injuries that could have otherwise been prevented. One of the issues that the experts talked about is how health care providers are not doing enough to measure the adverse affects of preventable injuries. According to one expert from the Harvard School of Public Health, patients are no better shielded from negligent health care than they were 15 years ago.
Senator Bernie Sanders says that most consumers are not aware that negligent health care is one of the leading causes of death in America. According to him, lawmakers and policy makers are not giving this problem the attention it deserves. Medical negligence can take place in many forms, such as medication errors and adverse drug reactions. Studies show that patients experience injuries and adverse reactions from drugs up to 25 percent of the time within 30 days of the initial prescription of the medication.
According to a recent study, physician malpractice and harm could have contributed to at least 400,000 deaths a year. The author of the study also suggested that a National Patient Safety Board be created to investigate medical malfeasance, along with a national patients’ bill of rights that will outline what health care consumers should expect from their providers.
Physicians and other health care practitioners owe their patients a duty of care. Those who have suffered an injury from what they believe to have been a breach of this duty may wish to consult with a medical malpractice attorney for guidance.
Source: NPR.org, “Health Safety Experts Call For Public Reporting Of Medical Harms“, Marshall Allen, July 18, 2014
