After gathering data from 10,000 patients researchers found that 48.6% of patients experienced a problem, and over 30% of those “did not always feel comfortable speaking up.” The study has implications for overall patient safety and satisfaction.
Researchers have found that study participants exposed to shared decision-making reported “higher trust, rated their physicians more highly and were less likely to fault their physicians for the adverse outcome compared with those exposed to no decision-making.”
A recent report, published in the Journal of Toxicology, found that people in the United States are making errors in dosing medications at home. Healthcare providers should be cognizant of the need for patient and caregiver education in the proper administration of both prescribed and over-the-counter medications.
Our Winter 2016 Case Review includes a case study about a claim filed against a urologist who performed a robotically-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). It not only calls into question the training and experience of the defendant, but also illuminates a failure of communication: the urologist did not disclose an error to the patient.