National Patient Safety Goals

The Joint Commission has published their National Patient Safety Goals in hopes to overall improve patient safety in 2012.  

Here are their hopes for the upcoming year: 

Identify patients correctly: health care workers should use at least two different ways to identify a patient. Also, workers should make sure that patients are getting the correct blood when getting a transfusion.

Improve staff communication: Important test results need to get to the right person on time.

Use medicines safely: Medicines that are not labeled need to have a label written on them. Also, patients who are taking medicines that thin their blood need to be given extra care. Patients need to have their medicine list recorded and passed along correctly.

Prevent infection: Set goals for improving hand hygiene, and use the hand cleaning guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Also, use proven guidelines to prevent infection from surgeries and catheters. 

Identify patient safety risks: Find out the patients that are more likely to commit suicide.

Prevent mistakes in surgery: Health care workers need to make sure that the correct patient is going to have the correct surgery in the correct place. The correct place where the surgery is to be done should be marked. Also, workers should pause before the surgery takes place to make sure a mistake has not been made.

Health Issues to be Reviewed in 2012

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be looking at certain health issues come 2012.  

The OIG was created in order to protect the integrity of programs within the department, and has many work plans to focus on. 

One thing that the OIG will look into is how accurately hospitals are reporting “present-on-arrival” indicators on claims that are submitted to Medicare and Medicaid. These indicators show which diagnoses were present on a patient at the time of admission and which ones developed as a result of hospital stay. OIG will review both medical claims and medical records for research.  

Another area that will be reviewed is the quality of care and safety that Medicare beneficiaries receive when transferred from hospitals to nursing homes. Rates of preventable hospital readmissions will be one of the things that will be looked at.  

Reports on these issues above, as well as others, will be released throughout 2012.  

Photo: Jose Goulao, Flickr 

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We are patient safety advocates who represent patients who have been harmed by hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed or injured from a hospital error, please contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.  

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Lock it Up: Medicine Safety in Your Home

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Without Autopsies, Hospitals Bury Their Mistakes

Half a century ago, autopsies would have been a routine procedure after a person died. Today, it's a different story, according to an article from ProPublica.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that autopsies are performed on five percent of patients who die in hospitals.

Even unexpected or sudden deaths do not get an autopsy. Insurers don't pay for them, and hospitals are not required to offer them. Scared that they might potentially reveal medical malpractice, doctors and facilities stray away from them.

Without autopsies, hospitals and health care facilities are able to bury their mistakes, without ever learning from them or facing consequences.

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Renewed Warning on Baby Acetaminophen

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Baby brain is real, and it makes you a better mum - Association for Psychological Science

Baby brain is real, and it makes you a better mum - Association for Psychological Science

L.E.D. Displays in Hospitals=Cleaner Hands?

Could L.E.D. displays in and around nurses stations in hospitals promote cleaner hands?

According to an article on The New York Times website, "a video monitoring system that provides instant feedback on success has raised rates of hand-washing or use of alcohol rubs to over 80 percent, and kept them there."

Read the whole article here: An Electronic Eye

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JCR Awarded Funds to Improve Hospital Care

The Joint Commission Resources, among others, will be working closely with hospitals to make them both safer and less costly by reducing the millions of preventable injuries that happen each year.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently stated that $218 million will go to 26 state, regional, and national hospital organizations to implement performance improvement strategies.

The ultimate goal will be to make hospitals more safe and reliable for patients.

About 50 hospitals across the country will be targeted by these organizations.

Source: Market Watch

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Children vs. Medication Errors

Did you know that children are more vulnerable to medication errors when it comes to patient safety? 

Here's why: 

-most medications are made and packaged especially for adults

-most health care buildings and facilities are centered around adults

-young children cannot communicate the adverse effects they are currently experiencing

-children are less able to tolerate medication and safety errors

-dosing errors are most common for young children

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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JCR Awarded Funds to Improve Hospital Care

Joint Commission Resources (JCR) will be working with hospitals to make health care both safer and less costly by reducing millions of preventable injuries from health care-associated conditions.

JCR is one of 26 health care organizations that will be involved.

The Deaprtment of Health and Human Services recently stated that $218 million will go to thses 26 organizations. The organizations will then work with hospitals across the country to implement performance improvement strategies.

Source: Market Watch

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Patient Safety Awareness Week

Save the Date: Patient Safety Awareness Week is March 4-10, 2012

"Patient Safety Awareness Week is a great opportunity to raise awareness of your organization's patient safety activities and create lasting partnerships among providers, patients, and communities," according to the National Patient Safety Foundation.

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Drug Industry Sales Strategies

Sales reps are now going around to doctor's offices to promote their hospitals.

"The hospitals mine data to see which doctors have the most profitable, well-insured patients, and then they assign those doctors to a sales rep."

Click here to read the article on how hospitals are adopting these drug industry sales strategies

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Surgical Checklists

A surgical checklist is known to lower patient death rates.  

Developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the surgical safety checklist is being used by over 100,000 hospitals. The list contains 19 items that can be check marked before and after a procedure.  

In a 2009 study consisting of eight hospitals in different countries, it was found that the overall death rate among surgery patients dropped from 1.5 percent to 0.8 percent in a year after the centers adopted the checklist.  

Click here to read the article. 

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.  

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Fatigue and Patient Safety

How fatigue in health care workers can cause a decrease in patient safety is probably not news to you. A number of studies show that extended work hours contributes to high levels of fatigue and reduced productivity.

Of course, fatigue means inadequate amount of sleep or insufficient quality of sleep over an extended period. When it comes to health care workers (those that take care of YOU), what exactly can fatigue cause?

-confusion

-memory lapses

-lapses in attention and inability to stay focused

-reduced motivation

-impaired communication

-diminished reaction time

-indifference and loss of empathy

-compromised problem solving

According to The Joint Commission, “findings from a groundbreaking 2004 study of 393 nurses over more than 5,300 shifts – the first in a series of studies of nurse fatigue and patient safety – showed that nurses who work shifts of 12.5 hours or longer are three times more likely to make an error in patient care. Additional studies show that longer shift length increased the risk of errors and close calls and were associated with decreased vigilance, and that nurses suffer higher rates of occupational injury when working shifts in excess of 12 hours.”

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Patient Safety Advocates Start New England Watchdog Group | CT Health I-Team

Patient Safety Advocates Start New England Watchdog Group | CT Health I-Team

Patient Advocate Video

Watch the video below to learn how important it is to have an advocate by your side:

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Questions to Ask

Make sure to always ask your doctor about a new medication you will be taking, and that the answers will be in terms that you can understand.

1. What is this medicine going to be used for?
2. How am I supposed to take this, and for how long?
3. Are there any potential side effects? What should I do if they occur?
4. Will this new medication be safe to take with other medicines or dietary supplements?
5. What should I avoid doing, eating, or drinking while on this medication?


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Drug Disposal

How should you dispose of old and expired drugs that you no longer need?

Here are some tips taken from the FDA website:

Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.

Take advantage of community drug take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal. Call your city or county government's household trash and recycling service (see blue pages in phone book) to see if a take-back program is available in your community.

If no instructions are given on the drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, throw the drugs in the household trash, but first:

• Take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash.
• Put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.

Source: www.fda.gov
Photo: Harveyben, Flickr
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Prevent Surgical Fires

To prevent surgical fire, the Food and Drug Administration is building a coalition of both private and public healthcare organizations.  

Every year, an estimated 550-650 surgical fires happen in U.S. operating rooms. Surgical fires are fires that occur in, on, or around a patient who is undergoing a surgical or medical procedure.  

Surgical fires can cause disfiguring second- and third-degree burns. Fires that happen in a patient's airway can be fatal.  

According to the FDA website, this is how surgical fires happen: 

·  Oxidizer: Gases used during surgery, such as oxygen and nitrous oxide, and room air

·  Fuel: Flammable objects, including surgical drapes, alcohol-based skin preparations, airway tubing, and even the patient’s hair or body

·  Heat: Tools such as electrosurgical (tissue-cutting) tools, lasers, fiber-optic lights and cables that can generate heat or sparks and cause a fire. 

Here are some questions that patients should ask their doctors and healthcare providers: 

-Is the staff trained in preventing, recognizing, and putting out surgical fires?

-What precautions are in place to protect patients from a fire?

-Are water and CO2 fire extinguishers readily available in the operating room?

For more information, visit the FDA website.  

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above. 

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Improper Procedures

Did you know that because of improper procedures pertaining to inserting catheters and IVs, it's estimated that 80,000 people annually develop bloodstream infections? And of those patients, 30,000 die?

Here's what should be done:
-Hospital doctors and nurses need to wash their hands
-A sterile hat, mask, and gloves should be worn
-The patient should wear a sterile gown, and a sterile dressing shold be over the catheter site.

(Statistics are from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Toy Safety

With the holiday season in full swing, it means that more toys are being purchased.

Here are some tips to keep children safe when it comes to buying toys, taken from St. Joseph's Children's Hospital:

Skip toys with small magnetic pieces for any child under age 6 or under age 10 if they have younger siblings who could easily access the pieces.

Look for well-made toys.

Avoid toys that produce loud noises. High-volume games can permanently impair a child's hearing, and loud sounds can frighten a younger child.

Avoid toys painted with lead paint. Exposure to lead can result in lead poisoning, causing serious damage to a child's brain, kidneys and nervous system.

Avoid electrical toys with heating elements (batteries, electrical plugs) for children under the age of 8. These toys are a potential burn hazard.

Avoid toys with strings, straps or cords longer than 7 inches, which can wrap around a child's neck and accidentally strangle him or her.

Immediately discard plastic wrappings on toys before they become dangerous play things for young children.

Riding toys should not be used near stairs, traffic or swimming pools, and that parents can use the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper to identify small toy parts that are potential choking hazards. "Small children should not play with anything that can fit into one of these cylinders."

A Gift is Not Complete Unless Proper Protective Gear is Included: Bicycles, skates, scooters and skateboards are popular gifts for the holidays, but if children lack the proper protective gear or skills, injury and death can occur. To keep kids safe whenever they "wheel" around, be sure to:

Include a helmet as part of a gift, which according to Safe Kids USA, can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury as much as 88 percent.

Buy stickers or bike reflectors and use them on the front, sides and back of the bike to increase the child's visibility to drivers.

Buy a bike horn or a bell as a stocking stuffer. This tool is essential for warning motorists and pedestrians of a bicyclist's approach.

Don't forget to buy elbow and knee pads as well as wrist guards for skates and skateboards.

Source: MarketWatch

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Patient Safety Webinar

Patient Safety Webinar to Explore Ways to Promote Board Engagement

More on Drug Shortages

Medical News Today recently published an article online about the drug shortages currently happening.

The article states that, "The impact of drug shortages on patient care can be 'devastating', especially when alternative drugs are also unavailable, with patients likely to encounter delays in treatment, have their procedures canceled, or being administered with alternative, less effective drugs or drugs with more side effects. The researchers established that "Drug shortages can therefore increase risks to patients, and can also have a negative impact on institutions."

To read the full article, click here.

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Safer Healthcare Video

"Patient lives are at stake."

David Marshall, President of Safer Healthcare, discusses the issues pertaining to patient safety in a video below.



Hand Hygiene

Good hand hygiene: It not only helps protect you from harmful diseases, but it can protect others around you as well. When it comes to patient safety, it’s extra important.

Unfortunately, researchers in the United Kingdom discovered that the use of gloves reduces the level of hand hygiene.  

It was also found that health care providers had improved their hand hygiene practices when they knew they were being watched and videotaped.  

Here are some tips for successful hand hygiene that was published in the November issue of Nursing2011: 

1. Keep it simple - format CDC guidelines into simple messages and define dirty and clean zones.
2. Place hand-hygiene products where they're needed - at the point of care and at the entrance to and exit from the patient environment.
3. Integrate hand hygiene needs into workflow.
4. Ensure multidisciplinary involvement.
5. Provide ongoing education.
6. Monitor compliance and share results.
7. Remember the direct impact of hand hygiene on patients and families.

Photo:  SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget; Flickr

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Hand Washing: A Deadly Dilemma - Association for Psychological Science

Hand Washing: A Deadly Dilemma - Association for Psychological Science

Personal Health Records

To keep track of all of your health information, make your own personal health record.

What should be included? Start here:

• Your name, date of birth, emergency contact information, and blood type
• Major illnesses and surgeries, with dates
• Date of last physical exam
• Dates and results of of tests and screenings
• All allergies
• Any chronic diseases
• Any history of illnesses in your family
• A list of your medications, with dosages and how long you've been taking them for

Drug Shortages

As the United States continues to face drug shortages, patient care and safety is put at risk.

Some of the most needed drugs are anesthesia medications, which are needed before, during, and sometimes after surgery.

According to the article, "In 2010, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) listed 140 medications in short supply. Even more alarming, shortages are also reported for alternative drugs in several categories."

To read the full article, click here.

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Photo: Flickr, Army Medicine

Perinatal Safety Initiative

According to a report made by the Journal for Healthcare Quality, a perinatal safety initiative (PSI) may be able to reduce the risk for adverse obstetric outcomes. With this, patient safety would increase, giving staff and patients a better experience.

From 2007-2009, Brian Wagner, M.D., from the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., and colleagues looked at whether implementation of a multistep, multicomponent PSI would decrease adverse outcomes. The initiatives the group took included: team training stressing communication, a program simulating high-risk obstetrical emergencies, evidence-based protocols, standardizing electronic fetal monitoring with requisite documentation of competence, and distribution of an integrated educational program among all health care providers.  

After examinations, it was found that the Adverse Outcome Index decreased from 2.0 to 0.8 percent within the first year. During the two year period, the number sustained. With this, birth trauma and rates of return to the operating room also decreased over time. Staff perceptions of safety, when it came to perinatal, dramatically improved as well.

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Speak Up

Your health and safety is important. While at the doctor's office, remember to ask questions to clarify confusion. To help prevent hospital errors, patients should remember these tips:

• Medications: always know what medications you're taking and why.
• Become educated on your diagnosis and treatment; you will most likely feel more confident about what is currently happening.
• Trusted friends or family members can serve as your advocate, making sure you are getting the correct care.
• Pay attention to the care and medication you are receiving, and that it is what your doctor talked with you about.
• If you don't understand anything that is happening or have questions, remember to speak up and talk with your health care team.

Pre-Procedure Evaluation Template

A downloadable, pre-procedure evaluation template for procedures that require moderate sedation has been made available for free by the VA National Center for Patient Safety.

The form includes areas on a patient's vital signs, past medical history, physical exam, and lab testing/consultations.

Click here to download it now!

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Patient Safety: Top Priority

For any health care official, patient safety should be one of their top priorities. However, it seems that patient safety remains a work-in-progess.

Here's a list of the most common patient safety risks:

•    Retained surgical items (or RSIs)
•    Surgical site infections
•    Wrong-site surgeries
•    Improper patient positioning and lifting
•    Chemical and radiological hazards
•    Improper medication labeling and administration
•    Operative and post-operative complications

It's also come to light that good communication needs to be present between officials in the operation room. Without that, as well as not following procedures and policies, patient safety is put in danger. I would venture to say that more people are harmed in hospitals because of inadequate or deficient communication than from any other cause.

For information regarding this article and patient safety, click here.

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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More Hospital Procedures = Better Patient Safety

A recent study in the journal Health Services Research found that hospitals with larger volumes of procedures have better patient safety.  

If you're scheduled for weight loss surgery or heart bypass surgery, you may want to check out how many procedures your hospital does on a yearly basis.

In the study, it was found that hospitals that have higher surgical procedures are less likely to cause unintentional injuries to patients compared to hospitals that perform them less frequently.
To find out how many procedures a hospital has done, consumers can consult with The Leapfrog Group, which is a national advocate of patient safety.

Source: Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

Snyder & Wenner, P.C.
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Preventing Military Suicides

Just last year, our country lost 295 active duty service members to suicide.

With military services counting and examining them, we have the information on who died during or after deployment. And we also know the means as to how the service members took their own lives and if they were experiencing a crisis in their life.

So, how can we prevent them?

On The New York Times website, debates are posted regarding different areas that affect service members. These include:

What We Know, and Don't
The Best Medicine Just Might Be a Job
Challenges for Service Women
Mounting Tolls of a 10-Year War
The Importances of Military Families

And if you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK

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Breast Cancer Drug Revoked by FDA

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, commissioner for the FDA, has revoked the approval of the drug Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer.  

Hamburg said that the drug does not meaningfully reducing the size of tumors, nor help the patients live longer. The drug was also exposing patients to serious side effects, such as hemorrhaging and severe high blood pressure.  

As of right now, Avastin will remain on the market as treatment for other cancers. However, insurers might not continue paying for the drug which would put it out of reach for post patients, as it costs around $88,000 a year.

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Stealing Patient’s Identities

Did you know that medical identity theft is the fasting-growing form of identity theft?

Just last year, 1.42 million Americans were victims at a cost of $28 billion, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The second most common privacy or security issue reported by healthcare providers is patients wanting medical services under someone else’s name.

The nationwide survey consisted of 600 executives from doctors’ organizations, U.S. hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, health insurance companies, and life sciences companies.

The most commonly reported breach of privacy for patients is the improper use of patient data by a person who works for a doctor’s office, insurance company, hospital, or life sciences organization. These breaches included employees leaving private information out in plain sight, talking in a public area about a person’s health information, or even making comments on social media sites.

Most breaches were not the result of hackers, but of simple human error.

As a patient, you need to make sure your information is kept confidential. Inform your healthcare and insurance providers that you have a zero tolerance for compromised files.

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Patient Safety Video

According to the video below, "We should be able to trust the hospital we choose to provide us with quality care when the time arrives."

Watch the video below on Patient Safety, and hear about one couple's experience in dealing with a hospital when their son had a medical emergency.

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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AFSP: International Survivors of Suicide Day

AFSP: International Survivors of Suicide Day

Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving is International Suicide Survivor Awareness Day. This global effort reaches out to hundreds of thousands of people who've lost a loved one to suicide. This Saturday, November 19, 2011, is their 13th year of raising awareness and providing support.

Over 230 simultaneous conferences for survivors of suicide loss will take place throughout the U.S. and across the world. An amazing network of healing conferences is available for those who have survived the tragedy of suicide loss.

Connecting on this day allows survivors to know that they are not alone in this experience. And perhaps more important than anything else, research has shown that survivors of suicide contribute significantly in better understanding suicide and its prevention. There is great power in the personal narrative.



And if you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK

Swiss Cheese Model

Between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year in U.S. hospitals because of medical errors.

According to an article by Johns Hopkins Nursing, there is usually a string of errors in a number of different systems.

They call it the "Swiss Cheese Model."

"For example, the intern writes an order that is incomplete; the pharmacy fills it in error; and the nurse administers the wrong drug or dose to the patient. There was a hole in each of three systems—ordering, dispensing, and administering. When the holes line up, the original error travels through the systems and reaches the patient."

Nurses are now taking on a new role as patient safety officers in hopes to bring recognition and leadership to the evolving safety programs in hospitals. Afterall, nurses are the "primary sentinels" of patient care, "providing the first warning and rapid intervention for those too sick to help themselves."

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At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Protect Yourself from Diseases

Cold and flu season is among us. Do you wash your hands correctly? You can protect yourself from catching and spreading infectious diseases if you know the correct way!

Go to the World Health Organization website to look at posters and banners that promote patient safety.

How to Have a Safe Hospital Experience

Click here to watch a video on life-saving tips for a hospital stay.  

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.  

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Iatrogenic Disease

Did you know that Iatrogenic Disease is the third most fatal disease in the United States?

Iatrogenic disease is defined as a disease caused completely by medical treatment.

It turns out that about 100,000 people are killed each year from this, while another 2 million are maimed and disabled, all from hospital errors.
Click here to read more statistics.

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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Greed and Drugs

According to a recent survey by the American Hospital Association, 99.5 percent of nation hospitals have experienced one or more drug shortages in the last six months. We’re going through a huge drug shortage problem, and everything is in short supply and high demand.

Greed is now starting to creep its way into hospitals. Gray market suppliers, who get their products mysteriously, are marking up drugs by 650 percent, according to a survey done by Premier.

The report by Premier states this: "The gray market, also known as a parallel market, is a supply channel that is unofficial, unauthorized or unintended by the original manufacturer. In markets where the products are scarce or in short supply, gray markets may evolve to sell the item at any price the market will bear. In other circumstances, when commodities are already being sold at high margins, a gray market may develop to compete with the innovator's product, but at a lower price.”

Premier is urging hospitals nationwide to not buy any products from the gray market vendors.

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Are the Patients Pleased?

Surveys are being given out to patients after being discharged from the hospital.

In the next fews months, Medicare will start looking at the patient satisfaction surveys and take them into account when reimbursing hospitals.

The hospitals with the best scores will get more money, making some health care officials change their attitude and the way they take care of their patients differently.

Questions being asked include: Did the doctors and nurses communicate well? Was pain well controlled? Was the room clean and the hospital quiet at night?

To read the whole artice on The New York Times website, click here.

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

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National Patient Safety Foundation

Since its founding in 1997, the National Patient Safety Foundation has been on a mission to improve the safety of care provided to patients. NPSF educates the general public on how exactly to stay safe when it comes to dealing with health care.

To ensure a safer experience with health care systems, patients should keep these tips in mind:

·         Be involved and stay informed about treatments

·         Ask questions and follow through on treatments and instructions

·         There should be constant communication between patients, caregivers and organizations. You should be working as a team.

·         Keep track of your medical history

·         Have a family member or friend become involved in your care; they can help you understand care instructions.

·         Follow all treatment plans as described by a doctor. 

Be sure to visit the NPSF website and see what they’re all about.

At Snyder & Wenner we strive to keep the community safe when hospital care is involved. We have become patient safety advocates by representing patients who have been harmed from hospital error. If you know someone who has been seriously harmed from a hospital error please feel free to contact us. The Snyder & Wenner website can be accessed by clicking the "Patient Safety Advocates" tab above.

Snyder & Wenner, P.C.
602-224-0005