When engaging with the health care system and health care providers, it is important for patients to act as their own best advocates. In recent years, public advocacy groups have taken notice to the importance of Connecticut patients accessing available resources via the Connecticut Medical Board in regards to information concerning practicing physicians’ medical malpractice records.

The Connecticut Board of Medicine has long faced criticism that it is slow to revoke or even restrict medical licenses. In fact, Connecticut ranks in the bottom percentile of all 50 states and the District of Columbia when the effectiveness of the state medical board’s efforts in mandating disciplinary action against doctors is measured on a national scale.

A National Epidemic of Malpractice with Few Sanctions

A Public Citizens’ survey has found that nationally, on average, more than half of the doctors whose privileges were terminated or restricted by a hospital had failed to receive so much as a fine by the medical board in their practicing state. In terms of national rankings regarding state medical boards with the least number of restricted physicians due to medical practice per state, Connecticut ranked nearly last on the list.

Public Urged to Start Checking Their Physician’s Medical License

The Public Citizens group provides a national database for patients to access for determining what resources are available in their state for checking a physician’s medical malpractice record. Often, it is necessary for a patient to have a physician’s correct information because doctors can have similar names and misidentification can be an issue. Additionally, hospitals are known to change their names frequently. Also, physician data may be listed using a physician’s middle name, or it may be listed without it. All of these variables can result in patients receiving incorrect information—hence why it is essential for patients to check medical malpractice records.

Consult with an Experienced Connecticut Malpractice Attorney Today

If you or a family member has been the victim of medical malpractice in Connecticut, please contact an experienced Westport medical malpractice attorney today to review your case. We are proud to protect the rights of Connecticut patients and offer complimentary initial consultations. We look forward to speaking with you. Call and schedule your consultation today at 203-226-6168.

The American health care system is extraordinarily complex, therefore making it possible for medical malpractice and errors to occur throughout the entire patient process. However, nurses and other safety advocates claim that at least a quarter of these errors can be prevented with better coordination of the client care process. 

Digital Record Access

In a study recently conducted by the Gary and Mary West Health Institute, nurses claim that streamlining technology and creating automated, coordinated data records will improve patient safety and prevent medical errors that result from misinformation. In fact, almost half of the nurses surveyed for the study “estimated that 25 percent of medical errors and adverse events might be prevented if devices could share information seamlessly.” Being able to access a patient’s records digitally, as well as monitor and update a patient’s treatment and progress, can greatly reduce instances of medical malpractice. 

What Can You do to Ensure a Safe Hospital Stay?

When it comes to scheduling surgeries, reports suggest that the best time to schedule is in the morning and in the middle of the week. This better guarantees that a hospital’s staff will be fully rested and not overly taxed.

Patients are also encouraged to bring their list of current medications to doctors’ offices and hospitals. When checking in for surgery or care, a copy of one’s medication list should be added to a patient’s personal chart. Documentation will help to minimize medication and dosing errors.

Additionally, patients should immediately check their hospital wristbands for errors. Moreover, it is important for patients to request that all health care providers check their wristbands before moving forward with any procedure.

Finally, patients should have an onsite hospital advocate accompany them to help assess situations, ask important questions, and intervene if there are problems.

Consult with a Westport Medical Malpractice Attorney

Medical malpractice takes place at an alarming rate, but many medical errors can be prevented. If you or a loved one has suffered injury due to physician or hospital negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact an experienced Westport medical malpractice attorney to discuss your case today. Richard H. Raphael, Attorney at Law, is proud to protect the rights of patients by holding the health care industry accountable for providing the safest and best standards of care possible. Call 203-226-6168 today to schedule your appointment.

For most couples, there is nothing more exciting and wonderful than the birth of a child. After nine months of waiting, planning and anticipating, labor begins and a baby arrives.

The majority of the approximately 4 million births that occur in this county each year go fairly smoothly, with little or no complications. However, according to the results of a recent study, 13 percent of those births involve a major or serious complication. The study also found that rates of birth complications vary significantly in hospitals throughout the country.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester, in Rochester NY, and published in the journal Health Affairs. The team analyzed 750,000 deliveries which were included in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization’s Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2010.

When comparing rates of serious delivery complications between better- and lowest-performing hospitals, the study found the highest rate of complications occurred at the lower-performing facilities. This was quite evident, for example, in complications which occurred in cesarean section births. Some of these complications included clots, infections and lacerations, and were seen in 21 percent of the cesarean births performed at lower-performing hospitals. However, at better performing facilities, these complications only occurred at a rate of 4.4 percent.

This significant difference was also found in complications occurring in vaginal deliveries. Women who delivered at lower-performing hospitals had double the risk of suffering complications than women who delivered at better-performing hospitals. The rate difference was 22.6 percent, compared to 10 percent.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) are working on developing a platform which would measure and report benchmarking information on maternal outcomes. However, for patients who have suffered major complications in childbirth, that platform will be too late.

If you or your child has suffered from illness or injuries caused by childbirth complications, please contact an experienced Westport medical malpractice attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have against the physician and medical facility where the birth took place.