The vice president for safety at an Ohio children’s hospital was among those who spoke at a conference about patient safety on Nov. 3. The talk occurred at the 2016 U.S. News Healthcare of Tomorrow Conference in Washington, D.C. He and several others leaders from children’s hospitals discussed the unique challenges of promoting safety among child patients. For example, falls, which are a major concern at most hospitals, are not a focus at children’s hospitals. A more appropriate focus from a safety point of view is medication. Many guidelines around drugs are written for adults.
As a response to this, in Michigan, the Food and Drug Administration funds the Michigan Pediatric Safety Collaboration. This is an initiative aimed at standardizing oral liquid compounds. The panelists also discussed sharing safety data between organizations as well as the importance of accuracy in electronic medical records. Human error can result in mistakes in treatment.
Solutions for Patient Safety is a network of over 100 children’s hospitals that is working to bring down the incidence of hospital-acquired conditions. Another topic of discussion was looking toward the future in terms of technology, buildings and collaboration.
A person who has suffered as a result of a medical error or whose loved one has may want to consult an attorney. Medical errors can cause serious setbacks to a person’s health and can even be fatal. They may also result in higher medical costs, longer treatment cycles and other consequences. In a civil case, the focus will be on whether the person received a reasonable standard of care. In other words, a court will look at whether the patient received a level of care that most competent medical providers would give or if medical negligence occurred. Compensation in a medical malpractice case may help cover some of the costs that result from the error.