Outpatient Responsibility

Misdiagnosed

If your doctor has made a wrong diagnosis, then obviously your treatment is going to be incorrect, and you’re not going to get better. “There is now abundant evidence that delayed or missed diagnoses are widespread and that in more than 50% of such cases there are serious adverse outcomes.”1 The most common cause of…

Your Ability to Stop Medical Errors Before They Can Affect You

If you want to avoid being a victim of a medical error, you have to participate. “Some people appear to have these characteristics such that, in the presence of an error, there is a persistent sense that something is not right and it must be pursued until a satisfactory level of assurance is reached. These…

Outpatient Responsibility

Medications: Side Effects and Medication Interactions

Doctors can’t possibly know all the side effects of all the drugs they prescribe or how all those drugs might interact with each other. And studies report that most doctors still don’t use an electronic drug-checker to check for reactions between your drugs (drug-drug interactions).1 “Physicians do not routinely screen for potential drug interactions, even…

Outpatient Responsibility Medication Interactions Medication Side Effects Medications

Medications: Problems in the Elderly

Elderly patients (those 65 years and older) are at increased risk for medication problems.1 One problem occurs because they often see several doctors/specialists who don’t always pay attention to what the other is prescribing, so the older patients get a condition that we call “polypharmacy” (too many medications). You can help solve this problem by…

Medications Outpatient Responsibility Medications

Medications: Prescribing Errors

Tragic errors can be made in prescribing medications.1 “Studies have shown that 15% to 21% of prescriptions contain at least one prescribing error.” 2 Sometimes the doctor doesn’t remember your drug allergies; sometimes he’s not considering the other drugs you are on; sometimes the doctor’s handwriting is poor; many times the doctor isn’t recalling the…

Medications Outpatient Responsibility Medication Interactions Medication Side Effects Medications

Lab Tests are Often Needed for Safety Before Starting and While Continuing Certain Medications

Drugs are toxic as well as helpful. Although the proper dosage of medication improves health and saves lives, the improper use can cause tragic outcomes. When drugs are prescribed, it is recommended that the doctor measure your blood count, kidney function, liver function, or electrolytes before starting that particular medicine. That is because a certain…

Medications Outpatient Responsibility Medications

Medication Mix-Ups: How They Happen and What to Do

It is really easy for a person’s medications to get mixed-up. Here’s a common scenerio: The result: the patient may be on a nonsensical mixture of medications, which may be harmful. Sometimes, even when a patient is only seeing one doctor, the doctor might add a new drug with the intention of having it replace…

Medications Outpatient Responsibility Medications

Test Results: No News is NOT Good News

You’ve done your job– you’ve seen the doctor and had your pap smear done, or your lab work done, or your x-ray done, and now you’re waiting for the call to tell you what the results are. Here’s the problem: Many doctors don’t have their practices organized in a way that makes it certain: But…

Outpatient Responsibility Test Results

The Problem with After-Hours Phone Calls to Your Doctor

Although it is very comforting to be able to call your doctor when the office is closed, know that yo uprobably don’t have his full attention. He may be slepeing, drinking or driving and his full attention is not on you like it is when you in the office. You should be very cautious when…

Outpatient Responsibility

Phone Calls to the Doctor When He is in the Office

When you call a doctor’s office to get a question answered by your doctor, make sure that the answer comes from your doctor and is not just the opinion of the nurse. Much of the time, if the nurse just answers the question on the spot, then the answer is suspect. Many doctors allow their…

Outpatient Responsibility