Patient safety when receiving healthcare treatment is a big concern not just in the United States, but across the world. Patient deaths are awfully high when receiving healthcare treatment and that should concern you. Healthcare industry safety is much lower and more prone to extreme risk than even compared to the nuclear industries for example. The World Health Organization highlights significant pressure the healthcare industry is under across the world to avoid disaster scenarios and keep patients safe.
Facts to know:
• 1 out of 10 patients is harmed while receiving care, while the majority of cases are preventable
• Death and disability are the result of unsafe care
• There are 2.6 million deaths worldwide every year in low-income community as a result of unsafe care
• Low-income communities are disproportionately affected by unsafe care and lack the resources to remedy adverse effects of such treatment
• Outpatient care is by far the most dangerous as 4 out of 10 patients are harmed from receiving this type of care
• Receiving safe healthcare can be a privilege in some parts of the world with the majority of treatment gone wrong being preventable
• 80% of harm in outpatient care is in fact preventable
• Canadians spend more than Americans when addressing harm that is the result of healthcare treatment gone wrong
• The majority of hospitals in the world do not invest in patient safety (cost of prevention is typically cheaper than cost of treatment)
• Medications errors worldwide cost $42 billion annually, not including lost wages and loss of productivity
• Medication errors can be incorrect dosages given to patients, inappropriate prescriptions or poor instruction that the patient fails to understand
• Inaccurate or delayed diagnosis is a common cause of patient harm and can be deadly
• 10% of patient deaths in the United States can be attributed to delayed or failed diagnosis
• 1 out of 100 patients worldwide will suffer from an infection as a result of and while being treated in a hospital
• Patients with a resistant form of infection are more likely to die while under care
• 1 million patients die during or after surgery annually
• Deaths related to surgery have gone down for all patient income levels in the last 50 years
• 15 out of every 10,000 patients receiving x-rays and radiation are victims of radiations errors
New Mexico’s Legal Experts are concerned about patient safety in the United States and in New Mexico. If you believe you were harmed while under care in New Mexico you may have a case. Hospitals, healthcare providers and doctors do not take all the precautions they should in order to keep you safe. Especially if you trusted your healthcare provider and had little income to pay for your services you may very well have been the victim of unsafe treatment. Low-income patients can be taken advantage of because they can lack the insurance to cover patient mistreatment or to have the best doctors perform their care.
The nature of seeing a doctor in New Mexico is that negligence and mistakes do happen. It’s what you choose to do after that matters in determining your safety was not a priority. Were you the victim of a failed surgery? Did you go home and notice the amount of medication you were required to take was incorrect? Did you develop sores or broken bones as a result of neglect while being in a hospital or nursing home? These are all questions that can help lead you to understand if your matter is worth pursuing.
The attorneys we work with can spot patient mistreatment by speaking with you about your incident. You should feel safe when receiving care and although healthcare providers do not always follow protocol and make safety their number one priority, you can work to remedy the situation by piecing together the mistreatment incident. Speak with an attorneys referral service in New Mexico today!