Re: Trainee Medical Errors and team failures

On Oct 31, 10:29 am, Sidonie97 <dekunderdicksons8...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Oct 30, 7:33 pm, ck00negative <ck00negat...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:





An interesting bit of news: gleaned from a posting by the Advisory
Board.

According to a study published by the "Archives of Internal Medicine"
it is reported that, in an analysis of medical errors involving
physicians in training, these errors were often attributable to poor
communication, teamwork breakdowns, and poor supervision by more
experienced staff. The research was conducted by the Michael E.
DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine,
University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and Harvard School of
Public Health and analyzed almost 900 claims of malpractice from five
different insurers. All of the cases were a direct result of medical
error and each resulted in harm to the patient. A full third of the
cases resulted in death. 25% of the cases involved a fellow, intern,
or resident whose role in the medical error was considered to be
"moderately important." 72% of the errors resulted from a basic lapse
in judgement. Breakdowns among medical teams and technical
incompetence were among the most common factors involved in these
errors. Also, there was a disproportionate number of medical errors
due to a lack of active supervision and the "handing off" of patients
compared to those physicians who were not in training.

Researchers say that their findings validate the need for more
appropriate oversight, "Noting that "better supervision of residents
has been flagged as one of the more remediable contributors to
substandard care."

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical
Center, adding to this piece, say that to adequately address the needs
brought up by the article will require the development and
implementation of a "new model of coordinated care."

Let's hope that they actually try to actively implement these changes.

Interesting data - I wonder if there was any comparison within the
study to the medical error rate for physicians versus residents. If
"handing off of patients" and a "basic lapse in judgement" has
substantial affects on physicians as well.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


I agree this is interesting data. I would be curious to know if there
is a correlation between the level of information systems at the
facilities and the number of errors reported. There could be
I.T.systems and processes put in place that would help elivate some of
these problems and help facilitate better communication.

.