During a football game, when a player drops the ball or fumbles a hand-off, the team could lose a couple yards, turn over the ball for an interception, or simply return to the line of scrimmage to re-do the play. But in the world of medicine, when a doctor drops the ball, consequences are much more severe. Lives could be lost or irreversibly changed for the worse. That is why patient hand-offs must be handled with the greatest of care.
Research to Improve Post-Hospitalization Treatment
Martin Chieng Were, M.D., M.S., a Regenstrief Institute investigator and assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, has received a $420,000 award from the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation®. The grant is aimed to help further Were’s research into improving, with health information technology, patient care after their discharge from the hospital. Specifically, he is focused on the handling of patients who leave the hospital with pending test results.
Post-hospitalization patient management is often riddled with poor communication. Were’s previous research demonstrated a surprising lack of adequacy in hospital discharge summaries, which can lead to serious medical errors during continuing treatment down the road. The study reported that out of 2,927 tests with pending results, only 16% were mentioned in discharge summaries. And further, only 67% of discharge summaries mentioned which physician would be taking on the patient’s remaining care.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
Handing off patients should not be a dangerous and risky practice. Medical providers should have sufficient and effective systems in place to not only ease transitions for both doctor and patient, but to ensure that the proper treatment is being provided. Dropping the ball is not an option when lives are on the line.
If you or a loved one have suffered at the hands of a negligent medical provider,contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at 856-833-0600 in New Jersey, or 215-567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Let the team at the Mininno Law Office earn you the full and fair compensation that you need and deserve.
As New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyers, we encourage family members to work with the nursing home staff to make sure all nutritional aspects of the nursing home patient’s diet are examined. This is especially important to prevent these deadly bedsores and pressure ulcers. As the nursing home patient is often unable to get all of his/her nutrition from food alone, multivitamins and minerals may be needed to ensure the proper nourishment. This should be determined by the staff and made available to the nursing home patient. Research has shown that seniors need a variety of multivitamins and minerals to stay healthy, such as Vitamins, E, K, D and C for example. Proper vitamin supplementation should be assessed and determined by the nursing home staff, and then provided to the nursing home patient as part of their daily nutritional plan.