Washington Post Article – “Focus on Patient Safety Hasn’t Succeeded”

Here’s an interesting, short article written by a doctor about the continuing problem of preventable errors and preventable deaths in hospitals.

The main point of the article is that too many preventable injuries/deaths are still happening in hospitals and that hospitals need to “build a culture in which patient safety is the priority” for everyone involved.

Very true.

One of the interesting things in the article is a discussion of the continued efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections – the article states that “nearly all can be eliminated.” The amazing thing is that it has been over 160 years since Semmelweis figured out that doctors should wash their hands in between handling cadavers and delivering babies, yet some methods of preventing infection are still being ironed out. (And as an aside, doctors still don’t always wash their hands).

(Howard Zimmerle is a medical malpractice attorney in Rock Island, Illinois. You can reach him at 309-794-1660 or hzimmerle [at] mjwlaw.com).