There can be many reasons that a person in Louisiana may need to have an operation. Whether a minor surgery that can be performed in a clinic or a major surgery that requires a hospital stay during the post-surgical recovery period, there is always the risk that an error may occur. Some errors can be minor but others can result in serious harm to patients, up to and including death. It is understandable, given that fact, that many people are weary about undergoing a procedure.
Becker’s Hospital Review recently reported on the results of a medical study that reviewed many surgeries to try and identify the root causes of any errors that might have occurred. The researchers reviewed data from three medical teaching hospitals over the course of six months. The study identified 188 errors classified as adverse events. Out of those errors, human error was said to be a factor in 56% of the cases. A total of 106 patients were negatively impacted by the medical staff involved in their operations.
Errors were grouped based upon the factors involved and the researchers identified that areas in which emphasis has been placed from a training perspective were attributed with fewer of the errors than others. These involved systems in the hospital, teamwork between surgical staff and staff communication.
On the other end of the spectrum were the factors that contributed to a larger number of the errors. These included poor attention on the part of a surgical team member, cognitive problems or cognitive bias.