Burnout is a problem in any demanding job and can cause even the most well-trained professional to make mistakes or overlook an important detail. In the medical profession burnout can mean more medication errors, a possible missed diagnosis, or other mistakes that can lead to serious patient injuries. Unfortunately, burnout is so prevelant in the medical profession that doctors have a higher risk for substance abuse, lying, cheating, and in some cases are at an increased risk for suicide. Over time burnout can lead to a loss of empathy for their co-workers and patients and is linked to increased errors on the job. […]

It may seem like an old trope at this point to say that the most dangerous place for a sick person is a hospital. This has been said many times before when reports show the high rates of contagious illnesses in hospitals as well as the harm patients are exposed to as a result of simple mistakes that can occur in the hectic setting. However, a new study shows that the rate of deaths associated with a medical mistake are double the previous estimates. A study by a government agency conducted in 2010 found that 180,000 patients in the Medicare system died as a result of [...]

In our last post we discussed the fact that many more people die each year as a result of hospital mistakes than previously estimated. In fact, the number may be double what experts previously believed, making hospital mistakes one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Mistakes can come in many shapes and sizes and can cause all manner of illness or injury. Experts call them “adverse events” which are characterized by something that happens in a hospital that causes a preventable harm to a patient. By reviewing medical records that contain these events, researchers found 210,000 patient deaths resulted from these adverse [...]