New RI policies to prevent wrong site surgeries
Posted by Jeffrey Roy on July 2, 2009
Can you think of a worse situation than having a physician perform surgery on the wrong part of your body? Unfortunately, it’s something that happens through negligence in the medical business, and steps are being taken to curb this activity. In Rhode Island, all 14 hospitals have agreed to adopt a uniform set of precautions to prevent surgeons from operating on the wrong body part or committing other grievous errors, according to an Associated press report. The complete story can be viewed by clicking here.
Under the new protocol, hospitals will have “two licensed providers mark the place on the patient where the operation is to occur and” surgeons will be required “to mark the spot with their initials and use a checklist before surgeries.” These procedures are aimed at helping physicians “who work at multiple hospitals reduce the potential for operating on the wrong part of the patient or other mistakes.”
Officials began developing “the protocol…18 months ago, before several wrong-site surgeries at Rhode Island hospitals occurred,” Jean Marie Rocha, vice president of clinical affairs for the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, said.
We have had the occasion to represent plaintiffs injured from surgical procedures on the wrong part of the body. Such incidents often times have devastating consequences to the patients and lead to mistrust of medical professionals. It’s good to see that steps are being taken to curb these medical errors and protect patients.
