Survey: Patients expect medical errors, look to technology for fixes
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Wolters Kluwer Health returned those numbers after surveying 1,000 adults on medical mistakes and finding that 30 percent have experienced a healthcare error either personally or through a family member.
Errors cited by respondents include being given the wrong drugs or the right drugs but at a wrong dosage, receiving an incorrect diagnosis and being put on an inappropriate treatment plan.
Nearly half, 45 percent, said they had been incorrectly billed.
More than one-third of respondents, 35 percent, cited “miscommunication among hospital staff” as the top explanation for medical mistakes. Also named were doctors and nurses being in a hurry (26 percent), staff being fatigued (14 percent) and hospitals experiencing staffing shortages (12 percent).
Further findings from the survey:
- 84 percent of respondents have taken some type of action to reduce risk when it comes to their own healthcare. The most common action is doing their own research to validate a doctor’s diagnosis or treatment plan (66 percent).
- 19 percent have delayed a procedure for a day when the doctor may be more focused or rested.
- 18 percent have asked a doctor/nurse to wash their hands.
Philadelphia-based publisher and software vendor Wolters Kluwer Health said it completed survey interviews in July and weighted data to align the sample group’s demographics with U.S. Census Bureau data on the population as a whole. The firm has posted the survey report’s executive summary.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.