According to a recent study completed by the federal government, you are right to watch and wonder because chances are you may be the only one reporting the mistake to the doctor, to the hospital, to a second doctor, to the government and to an Atlanta malpractice attorney.
Study Finds 6 out of 7 Medical Errors Go Unreported
In a report issued last month, the government found that hospital employees only recognize and report about one in seven medical mistakes or accidents that result in Medicare patient harm. The vast majority of medical errors go unreported, and the ones that actually were reported often do not result in changes in practice that would prevent future similar errors from happening.
The problem, according to the report, is not that there is a lack of procedures for reporting the errors or that hospital employees are afraid to make the reports. Procedures for reporting medical errors exist and employees no longer report fear as a reason for non-reporting as they did back in 1999. Now the problems seem to be that employees to do not recognize what is considered patient harm or that they need to report that harm. Medicare officials indicate that they will be providing more guidance to hospitals in this regard.
Contact an Atlanta Malpractice Attorney May Help if You’ve Been Hurt by a Medical Error
In the meantime, medical mistakes continue to occur and patients continue to be hurt without reports being made. If you have been the victim of a medical mistake or medical malpractice in Georgia, then you have the right to report the error to an Atlanta malpractice lawyer.
To find out more about whether you may have been the victim of a medical error and how the mistake could’ve happened, please read our book: Why Did This Critical Medical Error Happen to Me which is available for FREE on our website.
Additionally, we invite you to contact an experienced and compassionate Atlanta medical malpractice attorney at 1.770.518.1133 to discuss your specific case and your legal rights.