Julie’s

Hospital Hazards

Most people make an assumption when they check into a hospital they can trust it= ’s staff to take good care of them. But mistakes do happen, sometimes with serious or even fatal consequences.

A doctor, practicing for 35 years, didn’t realize how dangerous hospita= ls can be until he was hospitalized for an angioplasty three years ago. An artery ruptured during the proc= edure, and he had to have emergency open-heart surgery to repair it. Then the doctor caught a nasty sta= ph infection from an unsanitary catheter.&nbs= p; To top it all off, the doctor developed phlebitis in his arm from repeated needle sticks. The swelling took months to heal.

This experience is not unique. Som= ething similar could happen to you, but you can protect yourself if you know what = to watch out for.

1. Identity Mistake. <= /b> Be= ing mistaken for another patient occurs more often than you might imagine. Once you get your room assignment,= ask if another patient in the ward has a last name that’s the same as, or similar to, your own. If so, = ask to be moved to another ward. Suc= h a request might raise a few eyebrows, but your life may be at stake.

As soon as you move into your room, post a sign with your name and room number directly over your bed. Ask a friend or family member to spend as much time with you as possible througho= ut your hospital stay, asking questions, insisting that you get proper care, etc. Your “patient advo= cate” should make it clear that he/she expects to be consulted on all treatment decisions. This persistence c= ould save your life.

If you’re having surgery it’s not unheard of for surgeons to opera= te on the wrong side of the body, take out the wrong organ, etc. To avoid such errors, meet with yo= ur surgeon the night before surgery. Discuss the procedure in detail, including the exact body part being operated on. For absolute saf= ety: be sure a few hours before surgery, to use a felt tip pen to write CUT HERE= on the incision site.

2. Catching an Infection.<= /i> O= ne in five people catches an infection while hospitalized. Each year 80,000 patients die as a result of such nosocomial infections. Staph infects can be deadly, especially if you come down with one of= the antibiotic resistant strains.

What is the high incidence of hospital infections due to? Dirty hands and medical equipment = are the usual culprits. Only one = out of four doctors consistently washes his/her hands between patients. An even smaller portion wash their stethoscopes between patients, so much that the American Medical Association has issued a warning about “Killer Stethoscopes”.

Wash your own hands frequently, and insist that all doctors and nurses wash their hands before touching you. Be polite, but don’t worry about offending anyone.

Alert the staff immediately if your room seems dirty or if you run out of soap or paper towels. Make sure that = any equipment that comes into contact with your skin has been swabbed with alco= hol (or covered with a fresh disposable cover shield). This goes for stethoscopes, thermometers, otoscopes, infusion pumps, hemodialysis equipment and urinary catheters.

Because Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are so close to one another, infections risk= is always greater in an ICU than in a private or semiprivate room. =

3. Getting the Wrong Medication. A= nurse might inadvertently give you the wrong drug, or give you the right medicine= at the wrong dose, wrong time or by the wrong route.

Each year, tens of thousands of hospital patients die as a result of such medica= tion errors and account for 40 percent of all adverse drug reactions in U.S. ho= spitals, according to a Harvard study.

Defense Measures: Learn the names, dosages, and correct administration route of any drugs prescribed for you. Che= ck this information with the nurse each time you’re given a medication.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Learn the dosing schedule, too. Nurses sometimes fall behind sched= ule and have to be reminded.

If you’re given a pill or liquid (or intravenous fluid) that differs from what you’ve been getting, double-check with the nurse before taking it.

Alert the nurse at once if you experience any untoward reaction to a drug such as pain or burning sensation, shortness of breath, dizziness, confusion, tight= ness in your chest, numbness or itching. If you have any allergies, be sure they’re listed on your medi= cal chart.

4. Security. W= ith all the hospital staffers, patients, family members, delivery people, etc., roa= ming the hospital, it’s difficult for hospital security to keep track of everyone.

More than half of all hospital violence occurs in the emergency room (ER). One in three ER patients is armed,= one in four is on some kind of illicit drug.&n= bsp; While in the ER, don’t talk or stare at anyone who is tense, l= oud or belligerent. Quietly alert= a security guard or desk attendant. Hospital parking lots can be dangerous, too. If you feel nervous, ask a hospital security guard to escort you to and from your car. If you’re staying in a hospi= tal room, inquire ahead of time about security arrangements. Before going to sleep, make sure t= hat the bathroom light is on and the nurse call button is within easy reach.

Adapted from “How to Get out of the Hospit= al Alive”, published in the December 2001 Issue of the Vermont Parkinsonian.