Medical errors common during patient transfers

Being in the hospital can be a scary experience for many people. Whether you are in the hospital for a routine procedure or you are trying to get your unknown medical condition diagnosed and treated, you usually don't think about the impact a medical error would have on your health. 

Medical errors can wreak havoc in your life, especially if the errors lead to more risky medical procedures and treatments in an effort to fix the mistake. If you are in the hospital or going to the hospital, you should be aware of the dangers of medical errors and what hospitals are doing to prevent them from happening. 

While staying in the hospital, you most likely have several people going in and out of room. You are likely to have a physician, nurses and other hospital staff members in your room taking care of you. If your medical condition is still undiagnosed or if you are receiving surgery, you will most likely be transferred to a different part of the hospital or to a new doctor. 

When patients are transferred to another doctor, it is referred to as patient handoffs. Patient handoffs can increase the risk of medical errors as many physicians are not always trained on how to properly communicate during patient transfers. Miscommunication can lead to medical errors that can be very risky for hospital patients. 

Hospitals are trying to prevent medical errors from happening after patient handoffs. A study by Boston Children's Hospital suggested that hospitals create a new patient handoff structure to improve patient safety and reduce medical mistakes. 

Part of the new handoff structure includes training employees on standard communication and creating a verbal mnemonic to help hospital staff members make sure they are not missing any vital information about a patient. 

Patient safety is very important so it is vital that hospitals know about the risks associated with patient handoffs. It is also important that hospitals start taking steps to reduce medical mistakes during patient handoffs to make sure they are always keeping the patient's health and safety the number one priority during their hospital stay. 

Source: Fierce Healthcare, "Better handoff communication reduces medical errors," Ilene MacDonald, Dec. 4, 2013