Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Law Firm

Communication and Medical Malpractice

It used to be that you didn't feel well and you went to a doctor. If the ailment was very serious you even went into the hospital. Patients did what they were told, elevating doctors to almost a God-like status. Patients can no longer take such a passive role in their own medical care. With about 98,000 medical errors that result in a fatality every year, a patient or family member of a patient must take an advocacy role. Sometimes that means challenging authority, but always it means better communication.

This does not make you a rude person. On any given day there may be thousands of lab tests, orders or prescriptions given. Nurses and doctors are overworked, and during the staff shift, something can always fall between the cracks. A patient advocate takes notes and makes sure that they are involved in the day-to-day or hourly decisions made by medical professionals.

What can happen if you don't? During a shift change, the new personnel may believe one thing which did not occur during the previous shift. If an incorrect order is given for medication or tests are not ordered or the results checked, a medical error can occur.

A failure to communicate has been cited as the direct cause of 70% of hospital injuries, according to a study by the accrediting organization, The Joint Commission.

What is the Best Way to Communicate?

As a patient and advocate you need to understand the way information is exchanged between doctors, nurses, the pharmacist, the specialists and everyone involved in your care.

Doctors and Nurses

Due to many unnecessary medical errors, nurses and doctors are both being encouraged to talk to each other in a sharp contrast to ways of the past. If a nurse believes a doctor may be about to make a medical error of some type, he or she is encouraged to be more of an equal partner to the doctor, even if that means challenging the doctor.

Hospitals govern how doctors and nurses communicate with each other. Find out what is considered the appropriate standard for interaction between a doctor and other medical professionals.

In verbal and telephone orders watch to make sure the person receiving the order repeats and verifies.

Also, the facilities should also have a list of "do not use" abbreviations - drug names, for example, that have a similar sound to other drug names can lead to misinterpretation.

Medical Records

You may have heard that there is a push to switch from paper to electronic medical record keeping. This has the potential to benefit the patient in that for example, one drug will be flagged as being appropriate for that patient or for drug interaction with other medications the patient is taking. As electronic medical records are phased-in, you will want to make sure that only accurate information is put into the records.

Shift Change

Whether it's a shift change or a patient is being handed off from one medical specialty to another, mistakes can commonly occur in communication at this point. Often now this is done electronically to avoid communication errors. Again, make sure the electronic record reflects your understanding of the condition, treatment and medications, and what is next. It doesn't hurt for you to repeat your understanding to the next medical professional.

Everyone involved in patient care has the same goal, and the patient is very much a part of the whole team. A failure to communicate has the potential to lead to patient injury. If you believe a communication error may have contributed to a medical error, the dedicated Florida medical malpractice attorneys at Farah & Farah will ask the right questions to determine if the hospital policy and procedures were followed using the highest medical ethics standard and the latest technology. Please call us if you would like to schedule a meeting to discuss your concerns.