Yup. You read that headline correctly. More than forty thousand a day – according to the 2011 Health Grades Hospital Quality in America Study.
What is one of the leading causes of harm?
Hospital-acquired infections. What’s worse, increasingly these infections are being caused by antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Brad Spellberg, MD, a LA BioMed infectious disease specialist, recently analyzed reams of clinical data and concluded antibiotic resistance among hospital-acquired infections is “at crisis levels.”
Why the rise in these dangerous superbugs? Simple – the overuse of antibiotics in clinical care and in agriculture…
The improper administration of antibiotics to human patients has been a topic of concern for over a decade. Now new light is being shed on the practices of big agriculture, specifically the feeding of cows, pigs, chickens, and other livestock daily doses of antibiotics to foster weight and size gains. Having meat for dinner? Unless it is organic – chances are you are getting a daily inappropriate dose of these drugs.
What’s the impact?
Because we are eating these foods loaded with antibiotics, we are bathing countless species of bacterium daily with drugs meant to kill them in clinical care. And bacteria are “smart”. In remarkably short periods of time, bacterial genetic mutations lead to the development of bacterial strains no longer affected by the drugs meant to control them – and superbugs are born. Sadly – the World Health Organization is now warning of an end to the antibiotic world – replaced by a world where simple surgeries will be deadly and where something as simple as a scraped knee will once again kill.
What can you do to help keep you and your family safe?
How To Avoid Becoming A Victim Of Medical Error:
- If possible, choose your hospital wisely. Some hospitals have higher rates of medical malpractice than others and some have higher rates of hospital-acquired infections than others. One rating source to check is HealthGrades.
- The most powerful person in the entire hospital system is the patient. Always ask attendants to wash their hands before examining you and talk to your doctors and nurses about the procedures they follow to ensure your environment is as sterile as possible. Also, ask if the hospital has a low rate of central line blood infections. Central lines are a way of giving medicine to patients, but infections from a central line can be deadly.
- Choose your meats wisely. Whenever possible choose meats not raised with antibiotics or growth hormones.
If you are ever the victim of medical malpractice, call a qualified Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer. A knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney can help to ensure that your rights are protected.
RisCassi & Davis has handled hundreds of medical malpractice cases over our nearly 60 years serving the people of Connecticut.
What’s more, our Connecticut medical malpractice lawyers have received local and national recognition for our handling of these cases… click here to learn more.
We have a great team dedicated to medical malpractice cases. Our offices are in Hartford but we are available to meet with you in your home, office – even your hospital room if that is easier for you. Please contact us if we can help you. The consultation is free and there is no obligation of any kind. And – there is no fee or other costs unless we are successful on your behalf.