Of all the known causes of serious medical errors, could deprived sleep from the annual act of “springing forward” be a new addition? According to a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study, medical errors kill more people in the United States than all other causes except for cancer and heart disease. The research (“Medical Error—The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US”) notes that medical mistakes have replaced respiratory disease, known to kill more than 150,000 people a year.
The leading types of catastrophic medical errors include:
· Surgical errors
· ...
There are proven measures to prevent one type of serious big rig accidents. But could the reason the trucking industry would not widely adopt them be money?
One of the most catastrophic commercial truck crashes is when the tractor-trailer rear ends a car. Often times the car that it is hit by a commercial truck pinballs into other vehicles. These multi-vehicle wrecks caused by an 18-wheeler can leave a wake of serious personal injuries and fatalities.
Crashes Caused by Inattentive Truck Drivers
Inattentive truckers are often to blame for rear-end crashes. The failure by a truck driver ...
There’s one way for medical professionals to better prevent making serious errors during surgery: just follow the checklists. Surgical errors happen far too often, with catastrophic consequences for patients and their families. These mistakes, which typically are categorized as “never events” – meaning they should never happen to patients – include:
· Operating on the wrong patient
· Operating on the wrong side of the patient
· Performing the wrong surgical procedure
· Operating on the wrong site of the patient
· Surgical site infections
According to a report ...
Driving a big commercial tractor-trailer can be hard work. Hauling a rig weighing up to 80,000 pounds for hours with no rest can physically and mentally tax just about anyone. So when it comes to being an unsafe trucker, which plays a bigger role – age or inexperience?
A study from earlier this year sought to answer that question.
In April the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released the study (“Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Risk Based on Age and Driving Experience”), citing a dire shortage of commercial truck drivers. The shortage is largely due to retiring older ...
According to a new study, paid for by the trucking industry, there may be over a quarter of a million commercial truck drivers using illegal or illicit drugs.
When are Commercial Truck Drivers Tested for Drug Use?
Per federal rules big rig truckers must be randomly tested for drugs. Truckers subject to these tests include those who haul rigs weighing more than 26,000 pounds. Truck driver drug testing is required under several other conditions, including:
· Pre-employment: truck drivers must have a negative drug test prior to starting a new job
· Following an accident: following any ...
Most hospitals, at one time or another, have become overwhelmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. An influx of coronavirus patients can strain not only doctors and nurses treating them, but other medical professionals throughout a hospital. And these overworked healthcare providers – often times exhausted and eager to leave at the end of their shifts – may pose dangers to their patients.
The period when one shift of hospital medical care providers ends and another begins can be fraught with patient harm if not handled correctly. These periods not only include transfers between day ...
This week law enforcement is fanning out across the country to find and stop dangerous commercial truck drivers.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance this week is conducting its annual Operation Safe Driver Week. It began July 12 and concludes July 18. The CVSA is an organization of law officials and safety experts throughout North America focused on making commercial trucking safer and preventing fatal truck crashes.
In announcing this year’s campaign, the CVSA noted that although there are fewer drivers on America’s roads due to the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s ...
With fewer drivers on the road, the number of people killed in car crashes continues to climb in Missouri.
Among the changes imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic since March is less crowded roadways. More people can’t or are reluctant to leave their homes due to the potential for infection, which translates into fewer people driving in Missouri and all across the country.
Yet, in June the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the number of people killed in motor vehicle accidents statewide is up some 11% compared to this time last year. By early July the MSHP revised that to a 13 ...
As COVID-19 infections surged in March, hospitals shifted the bulk of their resources to treating infected patients. Most surgeries were delayed or canceled to avoid patients from needless coronavirus exposure.
In May, with COVID cases trending downward, St. Louis hospitals began again performing elective surgeries. But the question remains, what should hospitals do to prevent serious surgical errors and patient infections during the coronavirus pandemic?
Four leading professional healthcare organizations issued such a blueprint.
In April these medical groups released a ...
Medical errors are estimated to be the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease and cancer. According to a new study, many serious medical mistakes are made as early as in the notes taken by physicians.
The study (“Frequency and Types of Patient-Reported Errors in Electronic Health Record Ambulatory Care Notes”), published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 20% of patients who reviewed their doctors’ notes following an ambulatory care visit uncovered an error in those records. Ambulatory care ...
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