Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them

Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them

A primary care doctor is skeptical of his patientâ€™s concerns. A hospital nurse or intern is unaware of a drugâ€™s potential side effects. A physician makes the most â€œcommonâ€ diagnosis while overlooking the signs of a rarer and more serious illness, and the patient doesnâ€™t see the necessary specialist until itâ€™s too late. Â A pharmacist dispenses the wrong drug and a patient dies as a result.
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Sadly, these kinds of mistakes happen all the time. Each year, 6.1 million Americans are harmed by diagnostic mistakes, drug disasters, and medical treatments. A decade ago, the Institute of Medicine estimated that up to 98,000 people died in hospitals each year from preventable medical errors. And new research from the University of Utah, HealthGrades of Denver, and elsewhere suggests the toll is much higher.
Patient advocates and bestselling authors Joe and Teresa Graedon came face-to-face with the tragic consequences of doctorsâ€™ screwups when Joeâ€™s mother died in Duke Hospitalâ€”one of the best in the worldâ€”due to a disastrous series of entirely preventable errors. In Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them, the Graedons expose the most common medical mistakes, from doctorâ€™s offices and hospitals to the pharmacy counters and nursing homes. Patients across the country shared their riveting horror stories, and doctors recounted the disastrousâ€”and sometimes deadlyâ€”consequences of their colleaguesâ€™ oversights and errors. While many patients feel vulnerable and dependent on their health care providers, this book is a startling wake-up call to how wrong doctors can be.

The good news is that we can protect ourselves, and our loved ones, by being educated and vigilant medical consumers. The Graedons give patients the specific, practical steps they need to take to ensure their safety: the questions to ask a specialist before getting a final diagnosis, tips for promoting good communication with your doctor, presurgery checklists, how to avoid deadly drug interactions, and much more.
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Whether youâ€™re sick or healthy, young or old, a parent of a young child, or caring for an elderly loved one, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them is an eye-opening look at the medical mistakes that can truly affect any of usâ€”and an empowering guide that explains what we can do about it.

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Brand CROWN
Manufacturer Harmony
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber part_0307460924
Color Yellow
ReleaseDate 2012-09-11
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780307460929

Country	USA
Brand	CROWN
Manufacturer	Harmony
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	part_0307460924
Color	Yellow
ReleaseDate	2012-09-11
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780307460929

Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them

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