Louisianans who have a medical issue and seek treatment will do so thinking that the medical professionals will take all the necessary steps to get the correct diagnosis and act accordingly. Unfortunately, the frequency with which medical errors are made is problematic. It can cause serious injury, worsened condition and death. Medical professionals who will inevitably be confronted with legal filings for compensation due to their mistakes are also keenly aware of the problem. To reduce the troubling number of errors that are made, more than 40 healthcare organizations are banding together to try and improve various aspects of medical care.
Notable facilities such as Johns Hopkins and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are taking part. The goal is to make better, more accurate diagnoses to avoid the damaging mistakes that lead to injury and death. The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) wants to take certain steps to ensure that patients are given better a better diagnosis in a timely fashion and have the issues communicated effectively. That medical professionals acknowledge how common medical mistakes are is a big step toward reducing them.
The group has already discovered various factors that contribute to misdiagnosis. Included are a lack of communication as patients are transferred from one facility to another and care is handed off to other medical professionals; an absence of steps and feedback regarding how facilities are faring with their diagnoses; tools that will improve efficiency, speed and resources for diagnoses; not rushing medical professionals due to outside constraints; and streamlining how patients are diagnosed.
People who believe they have been impacted by a misdiagnosis or other medical mistakes when they are getting treatment or have lost a loved one in what they believe was a medical error should be aware that medical professionals and researchers have essentially admitted they are prone to making these errors for a variety of reasons. A law firm that has a history of helping those who have been harmed or had a loved one die because of medical malpractice should discuss the case to garner evidence and move forward with a lawsuit.
