For those in New York who are going into surgery, as well as their families, the thought of a surgical mistake occurring during surgery may cause them to lose a fair amount of sleep at night. Well, it's not happening to just them. Being familiar with the risk a surgical error poses on a patient and their family, a software engineer in another state is on the verge of developing software that could help keep some surgical errors at bay.
This engineer's primary focus is to reduce the number of surgeries that are performed on the wrong person. In addition, his software will keep patients from having to reiterate their medical history to new providers. Hopefully, this will help keep other common surgical mistakes to a minimum as well.
He will be showcasing his software at the HIMSS14 conference. According to the news article, more than 60 patients underwent surgery that was performed on the inaccurate body part from Jan. to Sept. last year in Florida. Further, there were more than 70 operations that were performed in order to remove items, such as surgical instruments and sponges, that had been left behind.
New York patients who have been a victim of a surgical error, or families of patients who have succumbed to injuries due to the medical malpractice of a hospital or physician, might do well to seek what available options they have. It is possible that monetary damages can be recovered from the hospital, physician or other medical professionals that were involved in the surgery. Possible damages can include pain and suffering, lost wages, temporary or permanent disability, medical expenses and other damages that are directly related to the surgical injury.
Source: Orlando Sentinel, Garage technology keeps patients safer, Marni Jameson, Feb. 2, 2014
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