Let's Look Out for Ourselves

There have been very troubling reports of medical mistakes in the news recently. Regular readers of this blog will remember the 40,000 people who were possibly exposed to hepatitis viruses in Nevada and the nearly 700 people possibly exposed to blood-borne diseases in a New York City dialysis clinic.

Using the word "mistake" to describe what happened in the above situations is really too kind on my part. A mistake is when a doctor writes a "4" on a patient's chart but really means "2." The medical professionals who allowed their patients to be exposed to these diseases because of sloppy work did more than make a mistake. They broke the public's trust in how doctors and nurses should act and practice medicine. It's important stuff.

Since it's unfortunate that things like this happen, I want to remind everyone to look out for yourself. Sure, we have to trust our doctor to a certain degree. But we also need to be an active participant in our own healthcare. One of the best ways to do this is to learn how to talk with your doctor. Another way is to look out for any problems and things that don't seem right. To help get you started, here are five easy ways we can help prevent mistakes from happening to us in the doctor's office, hospital or clinic.