Back when TV's kindly Marcus Welby, M.D. was going on house calls and curing all of his patients, most of us pretty much blindly trusted our physicians. They seemed somehow infallible in their white coats with the ubiquitous stethoscopes around their necks. The notion of questioning these demigods mostly never occurred to us.
Then in 1999, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences released a report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.The IOM recommended a national effort including establishing a Center for Patient Safety, expanding the reporting of adverse events, and developing safety programs in health care organizations. Not only that, but the vast amount of health information available on the Internet along with high-profile malpractice cases and very vocal advocacy for patient empowerment have helped to make us far less naive. Yes, we still respect our doctors and we're grateful for their knowledge and skill. However, we now know that 98,000 patients die every year because of medical errors such as operating on the wrong patient, prescribing the wrong drugs, misdiagnosing a condition, administering the wrong anesthesia, or leaving surgical instruments inside a patient. And we also know that we have the right and the responsibility to be involved in our own care in order to help prevent errors and have the best possible outcomes.
To that end, Dr. Jerome Groopman, author of "How Doctors Think," cautions that you need to make sure your doctor pays attention to your complete list of symptoms and doesn't move too quickly to label your condition or dismiss your complaints. Groopman found that 80 percent of misdiagnoses result from physicians' faulty decision-making processes rather than from technical errors. For example what might seem to be a simple stomach upset could be a serious gluten allergy called celiac disease. In the same way, persistent headaches could be caused by an aneurysm or a tumor rather than by simple stress.
In addition to Groopman's warning, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services offers these tips for staying safe:
Let all of your doctors and health care practitioners know about every medication you are taking including prescription drugs, over-the-counter products, and supplements such as vitamins and herbs.
When you have a doctor's appointment or go to the hospital, bring along all of your medicines and supplements.
Tell your doctor about all of the allergies and adverse reactions you have had to medications.
Doctors have famously bad handwriting, so if you can't read what is scribbled on a prescription, there's no need to be shy about asking for clarification.
Doctor visits are getting shorter and shorter but don't let yourself be so rushed that you fail to ask the following questions:
1. What is this medication for?
2. How should I take it and for how long?
3. Are there any possible side affects?
4. If so what should I do if I experience them?
5. Can I take this with the other drugs I'm taking?
6. Are there any foods or activities I should avoid when I'm taking this?
In the hospital, ask all health care workers and visitors to wash their hands.
Get friends and family to take shifts at the hospital so they can be alert for errors as well as help you ask for information and clarification when you're too sick or tired to do so yourself.
When you are discharged from the hospital, get clear instructions about the treatment plan you should follow at home.
Remember that more treatment is not always the best choice. Ask why every test or treatment is necessary.
If you have a test, ask how and when you will get the results and follow up if you don't hear anything.
Learn all that you can about your conditions. The government suggests visiting the Effective Health Care web site.
Are you satisfied with your doctor? Let us know here.
