This article from The Washington Post speaks about the surgeries having a high rate of drug-related error, which led me to think about the point estimates and margins of error of surgery in general and the effectiveness of drugs. For example, medical professionals can claim that a random drug, x, will allow a patient to recover from an illness 50% faster than they naturally would, with a margin error of 40%. This means that the patient could recover 10% faster or 90% faster. The actual result of their healing time is misinterpreted because of the uncertainty of many unknown factors that are specific to the patient that may speed up or slow down healing, such as, age, weight, severity of the disease, other medications, etc.
This method
I think Big Pharma companies skew their data very regularly. Although this is not ethical, it's practiced in this field because there is a certain probability calculated as it relates to side effects and ineffectiveness. For instance when we take Tylenol as a child we eventually become tolerant to the dosage. As we get older we need to increase the dosage even more than is advertised to get relief. The Pharma companies do not advertise that ALL pills have a toxicity level and will affect our organs at some point in time. Each pill is tested for toxicity levels before being released to the public. With that said, these companies take on a certain amount of acceptable risk when producing medication. The public has accepted this risk with
Hello Mr. Peters, After reading "The Case of the Red Leg" by Atul Gawande, I found that the idea of uncertainty, doubt, and unpreparedness within medicine stood out significantly. The role of a medical diagnosis is to identify the condition of a patient and to begin a treatment plan if necessary. As such, the ultimate goal of medicine is to treat and prevent disease. As such, how Gawande calls certainty “the core predicament of medicine” is fitting, as deciding how to appropriately treat and prevent disease is impossible when a physician cannot find a proper diagnosis. Within medicine, treating diseases is not a fixed, tried-and-true method.
Medication errors in the hospital setting have significant potential to result in serious injury and even death, thus effecting patients, families, health care professionals, and hospitals. Approximately 400,000 adverse drug effects (ADE) occur each year (Institute of Medicine, 2006). Considering that not all medication errors are discovered and reported, this number is likely to be underestimated. These errors not only contribute to patient morbidity and mortality, but also cause increased length of stay and hospital expenses. It is estimated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that $3.5 billion is spent annually as a result of ADEs (IOM, 2006).
Research shows that medication error in hospitals and other health care settings leads to 373,000 preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) per year and that these events would increase to 478,000 within 20 years in the absence of additional preventive measures (Federal Register, 2004).
The Washington Post article "Newly elected US Congress who swore the oath of office on the Koran" (Argetsinger, 2007) reported on the criticism by Virginia Republican Virgil H. Goode Congressman about elections Recent election of Keith Ellison of Minnesota representative. According to Representative Goode, the election of Keith, Democrat and the first Muslim to sit in Congress is a serious threat to the traditional values of America warned Goode's, contain in a letter to the components of his Virginia constituents on December 5, 2006, asked Americans to wake up or face the possibility of more Muslims elected officials will require to use Koran. He also called for the application of stricter immigration policies as a step forward in the conservation of both the confidence of this country and the values and resources. Ellison, a former criminal lawyer and a convert to Islam, had planned to use the Muslim scriptures in January in his private oath. Goode elicit criticism of bigotry and intolerance from some Democrats in Congress and the American people as Muslims, they pointed out that the
The article that I picked is from U.S News & World Report, it is written by ‘Robert Mendenhall’ and the title is ‘Change is Critical to the Future of Higher Education’. Robert Mendenhall is the president of ‘Western Governors University’ and also serves as a member of its board of trustees. The article is about how the future of higher education in the U.S is uncertain and that change is critical. In his article he talks about several key factors that require major change, in order to improve higher education. He says, “I am asked all the time about what I see for the future of higher education. Unfortunately, I think it will look a lot like it does today, because most institutions are resistant to any real change. Nevertheless,
1. After reading the New York Times editorial and the National Review article, is one argument stronger than the other?
As I searched the archives of Georgia States The Signal Newspaper, I stumbled upon some very derogatory columns and some rather moving columns. I had to take under consideration the current year and background of each published paper before evaluating each piece. Almost everything was written by current students who had no hesitation when sharing opinion.
Some errors affects patient minimally, whereas other medication errors results in patient morbidity and mortality. Despite the efforts, medication errors remains problematic in the area of healthcare. It is the health care organizations biggest challenge. Numerous research has been done to identify factors that would reduce medication error, however the emphasis on error management has been minimally to nonexistent (Admi, et al., 2013).
Wrong site, wrong procedure, and wrong patient errors are avoidable safety issues. Nearly 1.9 trillion dollars are spent on medical errors each year in the United States (Catalano & Fickenscher, 2008). Between 1995 and 2007, 691 wrong-site surgeries have been reported to The Joint Commission's Sentinel Event data repository (AHC Media LLC, 2008). In 2003 in response to the outcry for better patient safety The Joint Commission
Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness that has many effects on the human body and mind. It’s found in young adults and children as well. Statistics show that the disorder affects about four million people in the United States and is becoming one of the most common disabilities in the United States today. People with bipolar disorder undergo two types of mood swings: depression and mania. Those two are then divided into subcategories: Bipolar 1 Disorder, Bipolar 2 Disorder, and Cylothymia. This paper will discuss bipolar disorder, the subtypes and the symptoms, as well as causes and treatments.
Uncertainty could potentially mean many things. Uncertainty could mean that you are unsure if you patient will survive the procedure, if the prescribed medication will work, or if you made the right judgment call. All of these factors determine the efficacy of a physician, and it is important to be prepared for all types of situations. As most doctors who have years of experience in the field know, uncertainty is a principle that applies greatly to medicine. We may not know how, or when, this uncertainty occurs but we do know that it is an obstacle we must face. I think that the best way to be ready for uncertainty is to be prepared. By continuing to educate oneself on new diseases, treatments, and alternative approaches a physician can make
Sarah is interested in fashion, and has been since she was young. Sarah says that she's just taking regular classes because fashion school doesn't really look at grades anyway. She is interested in the arts, although she isn't taking any art classes this year.
In today's modern world with plenty of technology, it is hard to believe that we cannot figure out how to reduce Medical errors. The issue of medical error is not new in health care organizations. It has been in spot light since 1990's, when government did research on sudden increase in number of death in the hospitals. According to Lester, H., & Tritter, J. (2001), "Medical error is an actual or potential serious lapse in the standard of care provided to a patient, or harm caused to a patient through the performance of a health service or health care professional." Medical errors
Survivor, one of the first successful reality shows, is a show that puts a selected group of people in a beautiful setting leaving them to fend for themselves within the two different teams. Every week the two teams compete for rewards and immunity before someone is voted off at the end of each episode. The shows main theme is how the different people interact with one another, and since the theme of the show is outwit, outplay, and outlast there is plenty of drama to go around on the show. After almost ten seasons the show can’t just rely on the same premise that the show has been using for the four years it has been on the air so the producers have to rely on something else, sex.