One out of every five Iowa residents reports medical mistakes affecting themselves or someone they know. The errors include surgical mistakes, missed or wrong diagnoses or medication errors. A survey conducted by an Iowa-based research group focusing on health issues...
For the Injured And For A Safer Iowa
Medical Malpractice
Just how common is medical malpractice in Iowa?
Medical malpractice is surprisingly common in Iowa and across the U.S. Statistics are somewhat hard to come by, in part because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) doesn’t separately list medical error as a cause of death in its annual report. Beyond...
Medical staffing shortages increase risk of malpractice
Despite record-low unemployment numbers, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that more than 11 million job openings remain across the country as of May 31. Worker shortages impact nearly every industry, but health care remains one of the hardest-hit sectors. Staffing...
3 big ideas for improving rural healthcare in Iowa
One of the biggest problems facing rural America today is lack of access to healthcare in the area. While not every rural area is experiencing a shortage in doctors and nurses, shortages are much more pronounced in rural areas than urban ones. According to federal...
Could having separate geriatric emergency rooms improve ER outcomes?
America’s population is aging. People are living longer while Americans have fewer children. There is just a greater proportion of people 65 and over in the population than there ever was before. With that in mind, it may be time to re-think how we provide emergency...
Can I sue a medical resident for malpractice?
Yes. Medical residents can be held accountable for making errors that harm their patients even though they are “technically” not doctors until completing their residency. But statistics show that lawsuits against residents are unusual. One study, published in the...
Staffing shortages remain a significant cause of medical errors
Johns Hopkins University lists hospital medical errors as the third-leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 250,000 deaths annually. It amounts to people dying from seeking care rather than the disease for which they need treatment. While...
What are the causes of common medication errors?
Medical statistics show one out of every 100 hospital patients in the U.S. suffer harm due to medication errors. When studied in relation to drug injuries, these mistakes affect about 30% of patients admitted to health care facilities. While the percentages may appear...
How dangerous is misdiagnosis?
A healthcare misdiagnosis isn’t just a setback. It could cost your life. Correctly labeling and treating a disease early is essential, but some of the biggest leaders in deaths also top the list of diagnostic errors. Vascular disease has historically been one of the...
When is medical care bad for your health?
You place an enormous amount of trust in your doctor when you aren’t well, and that trust has to grow with the severity of your illness. When there are serious stakes on the table, it’s important that doctors are doing the right things to make you better. Tens of...