Mental Health

5 Medical Mistakes You Should Be Cautious About

By George Houston | Update Date: May 12, 2016 10:41 AM EDT

The appalling statement is that in spite of all the advances in modern medicine - medical mistakes are still common even with good physicians and such negligence could deal a fatal blow in the end.

Here we have listed the top 5 common medical mistakes so you can be your own medical advocate.

5.  Nonexistence of synchronized patience care that could result in over-testing and treatment:

Calamity may strike when one of your physicians doesn't know what the others are doing. This can result in over medication, unsatisfactory treatment, and frustration on the part of the patient. Make sure at least one healthcare provider is aware of all of your treatments.

More is not always better. Ask whether a test or treatment is essential and how it could help you. There may be the likelihood that you could be better off without it. Be especially wary of diagnostic tests which involved direct exposure to radiation like x-ray, CT-scan, which can be dangerous in collective quantities.

4. Drug medication mistakes

Make sure your doctor knows every drug and supplement you are taking. This can prevent negative interactions between medications. Reveal any allergies you have. Make sure that you can read the prescription and double check with the pharmacist to ensure that the treatment is correct.

 According to one report, sixty percent of patients are not given medication on a proper schedule while in the hospital. Thousands of other patients receive the wrong medicine or in the wrong dosage.

3. Handling the wrong patient

If the hospital staff misses the mark to correctly identify a patient's identity, patients with similar names can easily start in disarray especially if not intently scrutinized. Before each procedure you go through, make sure the hospital staff inspects your entire name, date of birth, and your wristband for the patient barcode.

2. Wrong site and unneeded surgeries

Operating on the wrong body part happens habitually enough that some healthcare providers have made refusals to include them in their coverage.  We suggest using a temporary marker prior to a procedure to indicate the correct body part to be operated. Other related tragedies are incidents of surgeons actually leaving surgical materials inside of your body.

Unneeded surgeries creates a great risk for infection and other complications brought about by the anesthesia and the open wounds. It has been reported by some experts that up to 20 percent of surgeries being performed in the U.S. are not really required

1. Misdiagnosis

This is the most common medical mistake which according to reports included misidentifying urinary tract infections, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, acute renal failure, and cancer. Studies show that some 15 percent of medical problems are initially misdiagnosed. A wrong diagnoses as studies show occurs twice as frequently in doctors' offices than in hospitals, but there are more disastrous consequences when it happens in the latter as the patients involved are more unwell. 

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