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Common Types of Hospital Mistakes

This list of potential causes is not exhaustive, but it does cover the main areas. Most medical errors can be avoided if the doctors, nurses, dentists and other practitioners take the necessary time and care with their patients.

Misdiagnosis (40%)- Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose a patient's condition can keep a patient from getting proper treatment for many ailments which need to be treated immediately. Unfortunately, this can lead to serious illness or death.
Surgical procedure error- Surgical mistakes can include operating on the wrong patient, wrong site, or wrong organ. Mistakes could also include leaving instruments inside the body. Surgical mistakes can cause injuries ranging from infection, disfigurement or death.
Incorrect laboratory results (2%) - This can include failing to order the proper tests, not performing the tests correctly or not reading the results accurately. Mistakes can also include administrative errors such as mixing the samples up.
Equipment malfunction (1%) - Equipment failures could include dead batteries or IV drips malfunctioning.
System Failures- Poor communication between physicians and nurses. Increase in number of patients. Relying too heavily on automated systems to prevent error. Lack of coordination between different groups who service the patients.
Human Factor- The human factor can include a variation in experience and training for the medical staff, individuals and hospitals failing to report medical errors, and an incompetent medical staff. Overwork and tiredness of medical staff called on to perform extra duties can also cause errors as well as not having safe guards or checking points in the healthcare system.
Communication Failures- Inappropriate communication between various medical service providers, and not keeping adequate records can cause medical errors.
Childbirth Error - Childbirth injury can include negligence during delivery which can result in Cerebral Palsy, Erb's Palsy or death. Mistakes can also include a failure to treat complications completely, and misreading fetal distress.
Medication Error (28%)- It is estimated that 7,000 Americans die each year from a medication related mistake. Prescription errors can include improper dosage, allergic reactions to medications, giving the wrong medicine to a patient or not giving the medication to a patient.

An important conclusion of the above list is that medical errors often result as a consequence of many factors.

There are many phases of treatment in which an error can occur. Errors can also occur in different locations such as: the hospital, doctor's office, pharmacy, nursing home and operating room. It is estimated that up to 70% of medical errors could have been prevented. Fortunately, hospitals are beginning to actively work to prevent errors. They are now required to tell patients and families when they have been injured due to a medical error. New standards have been developed that require a hospital to design patient safety systems, work to eliminate errors and openly report medical mistakes.

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Common Types of Hospital Mistakes