Unnecessary surgery exposed! Why 60% of all surgeries are medically unjustified and how surgeons exploit patients to generate profits Friday, October 07, 2005 by: Alexis Black Every year millions of Americans go under the knife, but many of them are enduring great pain and shelling out thousands of dollars for surgeries they don't really need. In fact, the only people who seem to really benefit from these unnecessary medical procedures are the medical professionals who stand to make exorbitant amounts of money from performing them. An estimated 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed each year, writes Gary Null, PhD., in Death by Medicine. Rather than reverse the problems they purport to fix, these unwarranted procedures can often lead to greater health problems and even death.
Louisiana has a long history of providing care to its poor through its state run hospitals. Recently, the Louisiana legislature recognized that the indigent care system is in crisis because the state’s nine charity care hospitals have been beset by problems such as chronic understaffing (National, n.d.). Hospitals with low nurse staffing levels tend to have higher rates of poor patient outcomes such as pneumonia, shock, cardiac arrest, and urinary tract infections, according to research funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and others (Agency, 2004). Inadequate staffing can have an effect on patient outcomes including: dissatisfaction, adverse events, death, failure to rescue, education deficits, and readmission. Nursing outcomes can be affected also: dissatisfaction, burnout, stress, injury/illness, absenteeism, turnover and vacancies.
They find their overcrowding further aggravated by outdated federal and state policies (Brewster, 2007). Worse, while many emergency rooms are already operating at peak capacity on a day-to-day basis, the emergency medical system is incapable of absorbing the massive surge in demand for emergency medical assistance that would follow a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Emergency Department Problems – Speed and Accuracy There are several reasons why this is becoming a nationwide problem. First, the emergency medical system is stretched beyond capacity (Schull, 2011). From 1994 to 2004, visits to hospital emergency departments increased from 93.4 million to 110.2 million-an 18
Medical Futility LEGAL AND ETHICAL ,AND NURSING ISSUES ARLENE JOHNSON GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY COHORT 164 What is Futility Futility defined as According to AMA (American Medical Association) Consensus of Medical Community Confusion Medical Futile Treatment An action, an intervention At the bedside Four Categories Legal History Patients’ Rights Movement Demanding Treatment Lack of Policies Present Debate Ethical Dilemmas The right to refuse and to demand Professional integrity Fear of litigation Implications on the Critical Care Nurse Life support Burdensome treatments Emotional exhaustion Burn out Aggressive and overtreatment End of Life Care Effect Families and Caregivers Making a Difference The dying patient Pain management Catholic Perspective Catholic Tradition Ordinary Care Reasonable Hope The Declaration of Euthanasia Solutions and Results Respond to the needs Talk to the dying patient Flexible Visiting Balance References James W. Jones MD, P. a. (2007). Intentional over Treatment: The Conflict of Interest. Journal of Vascular Surgery , 228-295. Lilia Susana Meltzer, R. N., & Loucine Missak Huckabay RN, P. (2004).
The statistics of medication error consistently increases in health care sector. A 1999 IOM (Institute of Medicine) estimated that “Medication errors” accounted for 7,000 deaths per year (Phillips et al.2001). According to Malaysia, static show that 10 percent of medication errors occurs by the nurses’ carelessness and not seriously follow the rules in their practice, during drug administration stage (www.straight dope Nov 2007). We mite be think, 10 percent is not a high percentage in medication error but that was the root cause of medication error, were started by the nurses in health care sectors. All errors result in potentially negative outcomes for the client, including a near or actual death.
Analyze the main causes of a major problem in our society National Health Care Even before the recession cost millions of Americans their jobs a full 15% of the American population did not have health insurance and the majority of them worked full time (CDC, 2007). Indeed, while Americans equate work with health insurance the truth is that aboot 20% of working age Americans, people between 18 and 64 years of age, do not have health insurance (CDC, 2007). These numbers may seem small. However, additional investigation will show that this is only a small part of the problem in the country. The issue is not that all employers do not offer health insurance, but that Americans view health insurance as something only employers offer.
HOW NURSES CAN STOP THE NURSING SHORTAGE An article by HSM Group Ltd. states (as cited in Spetz & Given, 2003, para. 1) “estimates of average nurse vacancy rates at hospitals range from 10.2 percent to 13 percent, with one in seven hospitals reporting more than 20 percent.” The Bureau of Health Professions predicts the nursing shortage to worsen within the next twenty years; by 2020 there will be a projected shortage of 800,000 nurses (as cited in Spetz & Given, 2003, para. 2). Because the nursing shortage has been linked to negative patient outcomes and high rates of nurse burnout, nurses have the responsibility as members within a discipline to partner with other professionals in the health care industry to alleviate the nursing shortage by reaching out to youth to promote a positive image of nursing, increase graduation rates of licensed nurses, and increase job satisfaction. The need for educated nurses is expanding due to a variety of factors including: increasingly risky and complicated work, an aging workforce, invariable financial benefits, increasing work alternatives, and inadequate new nurses entering the field (Stedmen & Nolan, 2007).
It has also been reported that thousands of other patients are adversely affected by medication errors or barely avoid injuries that are nonfatal. These medication errors not only cost the loss of lives, but carry a financial burden that is estimated to be in a range of $17 billion to $29 billion annually. Additionally, there is physical and psychological pain and suffering related to these errors. A review of studies suggests that about one half of medication errors in hospitals have the potential to harm patients, although only a small proportion actually cause patient harm. Medication errors that cause harm are called preventable adverse drug events.
Running Head: Orem’s Self-care theory 1 Dorthea Orem’s Self Care Nursing Theory Rebecca Robinson Central Methodist University OREM’S SELF CARE THEORY 2 Abstract This paper will explore the work of Dorthea Orem’s Self Care Theory and how this theory can be applied to nursing today. Health care providers become more challenged to care for an increasing number of patients each day, having the patient population assist in their care and wellness will become a necessity in health care. Involving the families will also become important to the care of the patient as well. This is the current trend. Only the acutely ill patients are kept for long stays as an inpatient in the hospital today.
Medical Error Prevalence According to a 1999 Institute of Medicine report, 44,000 to 98,000 people die every year as a result of medical mistakes. A more recent study found that 1.5 million Americans are seriously harmed as a result of medication errors annually. In many cases, these drug errors are caused by a combination of doctor/nurse/hospital negligence in addition to equipment failure (www.medical-malpractice-attorney-source.com/.../hospital.../equipment...failures). According to the BBC News a retired civil servant Cecil Barnes, age 79, died at Derriford Hospital in 2008 after equipment failure at Plymouth Hospital due to staff unable to clear his airway despite using three different sets of equipment. Cecil Barnes was in Derriford Hospital for an operation to remove his bladder.