Cause of Death: Heart Disease. Cancer. Medical Errors.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

WASHINGTON, July 17 – Preventable medical errors in hospitals are the third leading cause of death in the United States, a Senate panel was told today. Only heart disease and cancer kill more Americans.

That was 2014.  I believe that is still true today.  In my non-medical opinion, I believe this statistic is due to the conflicting information a patient and their caregivers receive while getting treatment.

My dad was just released from Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, Missouri, yesterday after a one week stay following foot surgery.

Here is a SMALL sample of the care he received:

One evening my dad’s blood sugar was low.  The RN asked the tech to get him two orange juice containers from the hall pantry.  He drank the juice.  The very next morning a tech took my dad’s blood sugar.  It was low again.  I told the RN that I could go get him an orange juice from the pantry.  She said, ‘He should never, under any circumstances, have orange juice due to chronic kidney disease.’  I told her that was the solution to the low blood sugar last night by the staff.  She said, ‘they must not have noticed the chronic kidney disease on his chart.’  Really?

Immediately following my dad’s foot surgery the surgeon came in to speak with my family.  He was very clear that my dad should not put one ounce of weight on his foot for two months.  He should stay in a wheelchair. It is that serious. Two days later, the physical therapist came in, ‘Let’s get you up and moving around.’ That person taught my dad how to walk with a walker.  (Should my dad be using a walker?  That completely contradicts what the surgeon said two days prior.  Today’s nurse said she would call the surgeon.  We never heard another word.)

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Below is a photo of my dad’s foot.  We completely understood the need to keep weight off his foot and to continue his antibiotics as prescribed.  Continue reading...

My dad was released yesterday.  He went home with a PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) and wound vac.  We were told by Dr. David Janssen, Infectious Disease, the importance of continuing the antibiotic treatment at regular intervals due to the seriousness of my dad’s wound.  My sister and I were told by two different people at Mercy (Bev and Melody) that my dad’s medications would be delivered to his house between 6-8 pm.  A visiting nurse would call at 6:30 pm to schedule a visit between 7-8 pm to get his intravenous medications started.  

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It is now the day following my dad’s release from the hospital.  The medicine was delivered as scheduled.  No nurse called.  No nurse stopped by.  My parent’s cannot get in touch with anyone.  My dad has now missed three rounds of his antibiotics. We are calling everyone we possibly can and cannot get in touch with anyone!

#medicalerrors #conflictingmedicalinformation #patientcare

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I am deeply perplexed by hospitals.  Each member of the medical team that visits a patient spends an extraordinary amount of time looking at the computer in the room.  They enter data profusely.  And yet, there is an extraordinary breakdown in communication.  Why?  What causes that?  What is the solution?

One area that I really paid attention to on this last hospital visit was the way staff members entered computer data.  While they were entering data, their phones ring and they take a call, an associate enters the room and asks a question, or the patient may say something.  They are interrupted.  On several occasions, after an interruption, the associate would look at me and ask, ‘What did I say his blood pressure was?’

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I am deeply concerned about conflicting information at hospitals.  I know truly bad outcomes can result from misinformation or conflicting information.  I have seen it happen.  With everything that happens at a hospital that is truly dizzying, I know that there are a lot of great people working in the hospital field. Chris, Abbie, and Blaine worked hard to ensure that my dad was well taken care of during his stay on the 4th floor at Mercy.  I am so grateful.  After spending a very emotional, and physically and mentally exhausting week with my dad, it was so great to have those rays of sunshine helping my dad.  

2017