IF MEDICAL errors in diagnosis can be deadly, those associated with treatment can be deadlier. These errors are more detectable than diagnostic errors because these are closely tied to adverse events in the care of the patient.
The United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified five errors associated with treatment.
First, a treatment performance error. This is an error in a operation conducted, directly associated with doctors specializing in surgery (e.g. errors in surgical planning or wrong site surgery). These errors include the erroneous performance of a non-surgical procedure, such as incorrectly inserting a breathing tube into a patient’s trachea, which can lead to the suffocation of a patient or injury to a patient’s tracheal walls.
The second treatment error is the erroneous administration of the treatment. This error is known to be difficult to detect in outpatient treatment situations because the adverse effect cannot be directly associated with the treatment made. It can be interpreted as a progression of the milder initial disease.
The third treatment error includes the medication errors mentioned in an earlier column on medical errors, as reported in a study at the Philippine Heart Center, namely, prescribing errors, dispensing errors, medication administration errors, and order-processing errors. The last three errors are commonly associated with hospital care, while the first error can occur in outpatient care.
The fourth treatment error pertains to avoidable delays in treatment, such as a late round by adoctor, which results to a delayed initiation of a crucial medication or attachment of a support system (e.g. breathing apparatus).
The fifth treatment error involves inappropriate care, which is a general term referring to the choice of an incorrect approach in providing clinical treatment to the patient.
The IOM also identified prevention-associated medical errors, such as the failure to provide a prophylactic intervention or the inadequate monitoring of treatment. It also includes failure to adequately follow-up on treatments made.
Remember that being an educated patient is far better than staying as an ignorant patient.