By Birgit Bürkner
Why do so many medical errors still occur despite safety barriers and what can patients do?
According to Dr. Ruth Hecker, chairwoman of the Patient Safety Action Alliance, said it is not just one doctor’s personal mistake, but rather errors in an entire process chain. The responsible organizations, i.e. clinics or doctor’s practices, would have to stop them.
Possible causes: no or too few skilled personnel, economic pressure on employees and social pressure to function.
Dr. Ruth Hecker, chairwoman of the Patient Safety Action Alliance Photo: Helen Hecker
“Certain preventative measures are repeatedly undermined in hospitals,” says Hecker. “For example, the so-called team time-out before the first incision, in which everyone involved in the operation introduces themselves, names the patient, plans for the operation and the side of the procedure.”
The alliance has created a catalog for hospital patients:
► Make sure that you are addressed by the correct name.
► Let us know if you receive medication at a different time than usual or if you receive more or fewer tablets.
► Raise the alarm if an incorrect surgical site has been marked or you feel that an incorrect examination is being carried out.
Hecker: “If your symptoms are repeatedly not taken care of, then ask for a senior physician, chief physician, the medical director or get help over the phone from a doctor you trust.”