Unquestionably, patient safety should be a primary concern for surgeons; poor planning and rushed procedures result in devastating losses for thousands of patients and their families each year.
Preoperative planning, adherence to high-quality standards above and beyond what may have been taught at Mercer or Emory, and better communication in the operation room can go a long way in reducing the risk of a wrong site or wrong patient surgery.
There are a few steps surgeons should take to minimize surgical errors:
- Clear markings – prior to operation, the surgical team should clearly mark the site of the surgery with a marker, and the patient should verify that it’s the correct location.
- Patient verification – the attending physicians should ask the patient's name and check his or her I.D. bracelet to double check it’s the correct person.
- Confirm history – it’s also important for doctors as well as all the attending staff members to read over the patient’s medical history and allergies.
- Verbal verification – verbal verification should be taken a step further; in the operating room, the doctors and nurses should verbally verify the accuracy of the surgery site amongst themselves.
- Posted medical records – patients’ records and X rays should be present in the operating room for doctors to refer to easily.
Contacting a Georgia Medical Malpractice Firm
If you are the victim of someone else’s negligence or carelessness, such as when a doctor performs a wrong site surgery, you have certain rights guaranteed by law. To help you understand these rights and seek the compensation you may be eligible for to help get your life back in order, contact the Atlanta Law Offices of Sheryl L. Burke for a no-cost consultation on your injury case – 1-404-842-7838.