100,000 Americans Die Each Year From Preventable Medical Errors

As a Florida hip implant injury lawyer I am fascinated by the health care debate that is currently raging in our country. The Institute of Medicine recently released a study estimating that nearly 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical mistakes. If the Centers for Disease Control would include preventable medical errors as a category, it would be the sixth leading cause of death in America.

Our Miami patient rights law firm urges these five easy steps that can save countless lives:

1. Mandatory computerized medical record and patient management systems.

2. Computerized physician order systems, eliminating errors caused by bad handwriting.

3. Radio-frequency tags used on surgical tools to eliminate surgeons leaving instruments in patients.

4. Mandatory hand-washing programs in all offices and hospitals.

5. Preoperative antibiotics to minimize post-op infections, especially in elective procedures.

Our legislature should spend its energy in enforcing steps to prevent errors rather than trying to take justice away from innocent victims by passing laws that limit the amount of money a victim can recover.