tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post3066418722547353965..comments2023-09-21T04:02:29.457-04:00Comments on Skeptical Scalpel: 1 in 5 elderly U.S. patients injured by medical care (or not)Skeptical Scalpelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-88550869625105676332014-07-08T20:28:29.667-04:002014-07-08T20:28:29.667-04:00That's an excellent point. If you take a lot o...That's an excellent point. If you take a lot of meds, you are sick. If you take a lot of meds, an error is more likely. I wish I had thought of that.Skeptical Scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-18026124488577509682014-07-07T17:44:31.831-04:002014-07-07T17:44:31.831-04:00Another wonderful example of correlation = causati...Another wonderful example of correlation = causation in the media. <br />Take only med errors, for example. <br />A person getting 10 meds is more likely to rack up a med error than someone getting 1 or 2. <br /><br />Too often, media outlets look at the data later and say "the people with medication errors had worse outcomes!" - but neglect to look into whether the population most likely to suffer med errors (those with multiple meds managing multiple problems) had worse outcomes as a whole, aside from any error. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-33112880889716771282014-07-05T10:49:38.740-04:002014-07-05T10:49:38.740-04:00Libby, thanks for the comments. I'm glad you s...Libby, thanks for the comments. I'm glad you saw the stupidity of the authors' conclusion. Research like this drives me crazy.Skeptical Scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-17576503441551813832014-07-04T15:28:38.163-04:002014-07-04T15:28:38.163-04:00"The authors concluded that AMEs should be av..."The authors concluded that AMEs should be avoided because of the excess mortality and costs." I dunno, (dripping with sarcasm) maybe they should be encouraged in order to loosen up more beds for those waiting in the ED. Soooo, if people didn't die and it was cheap to leave stuff inside people during operations then it would be ok? Sometimes humans say really strange things. Like, "drive safely" like the person was planning on driving blindfolded.<br /><br />I agree, somethings happen dispite our belief that an intervention/treatment would be the best option in that particular instance. I certainly hope MDs don't wake up every morning and say "gosh, it's a good day to screw up and kill off someone".<br /><br />Keep writing Dr. S. I learn from you and your commenters. Odd how I see more now during my volunteer shift in the ED from reading your blog. In a good way.Libbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09274573439351833726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-3261487585241455982014-06-26T08:09:19.029-04:002014-06-26T08:09:19.029-04:00Thank you for commenting.
Dr. Morasca, I agree w...Thank you for commenting. <br /><br />Dr. Morasca, I agree with you. What people who are not clinical MDs do not understand is that sometimes in the middle of the night when you are juggling a few sick patients, you have to make decisions. Even the right decision will not always prevent an adverse outcome. And some meds produce adverse outcomes, but not treating a problem can give you a bad result too.<br /><br />Karen, I appreciate your citing my post in your comment on that Healthcare Blog. It is so frustrating to me that many people equate a complication with a mistake. I will continue to point these things out until it stops happening.Skeptical Scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-46794942319137595682014-06-26T00:29:28.824-04:002014-06-26T00:29:28.824-04:00sadly I still find that there are many who do not ...sadly I still find that there are many who do not appreciate the difference between a bad decision and a bad outcome from a proper decision. I have not seen the above studies details but I have reviewed many that are similar and have found they are conspicuously lacking in the details over whether or not the medication in question was given for the proper indication. This would make a critical difference in the analysis in that a proper medication given that turned out a bad outcome cannot be foreseen and should not be considered and medical error.dr morascanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-24408474121764175572014-06-25T20:54:57.872-04:002014-06-25T20:54:57.872-04:00I think the issue is the fact that the medical com...I think the issue is the fact that the medical community doesn't do anything but deny and defend rather than openly saying you have problems and how to fix them. Most people can spot a sue happy nut. There are many (myself included) who would have been happier that the doctor fixed the problems, was educated, and basically acted like a responsible, respectable human being for doing the right thing. <br /><br />Lets face it: I've seen a lot go wrong and the medical community wants to keep it buried rather than working with the patient communities to help fix things. I'm not talking about obvious Dr. Oz followers, I am referring to people like me who read UpToDate and other medical databases. <br /><br />I've applied to be on the patient team at the hospital who hoosed me up. No response. So someone who has made suggestions (and yes, risk management acted on them) and then tossed aside, no thank you and basically screw you, this is why you see the things you do. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-59354145986862311582014-06-25T18:02:42.102-04:002014-06-25T18:02:42.102-04:00I don't wish you had less to write about, I ju...I don't wish you had less to write about, I just wish you had more positive things to write about. <br /><br />Sensationalism sells. Remember that Don Henley song, "Dirty Landry"? He didn't call it "Clean Laundry" for a reason. artigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361655152970244221noreply@blogger.com