Blog 3: The Patient Perspective

             Unfortunately, adverse events occur in the health care industry very often. Adverse events can cause many problems for any health care organization. The occurrence of the situation goes from bad to worse when the patient is unhappy or displeased with the event. Once the patient is dissatisfied with the care they received, emotions run amok. When emotions are conveyed in the situation, it can only make the event harder to deal with especially if the patient is harmed (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 250).When very serious adverse events occur and the patient is upset with their health care: legal battles, problems with regulation agencies, and media scrutiny are likely to arise (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 250).

The reason the patient is receiving health care is to have an honest explanation of what is occurring with their body. Practitioners have the duty to help treat any patient’s health problems and to be honest with them. Therefore, it is recommended that the patient actively participate in all areas of their health care (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 251). Often, the patient is the only one who knows what each specialist prescribes and diagnoses them. It is important that the patient relays the correct information to each practitioner. This way adverse events are less likely to occur. 

If the patient is completely or partially unaware about the adverse event occurrence, problems are less likely to occur for the health care organization. Admitting to an adverse event can be detrimental to the health care organization because it can be seen as admitting guilt in the court of law (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 251). Therefore, many lawyers advise practitioners to never apologize for an adverse event (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 251). Oftentimes, they even suggest that the practitioner stay mum when an adverse event occurs (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 251).  Many patients file lawsuits to get the truth about what is occurring with their health care experience rather than to receive retribution (Ransom, Joshi, Nash, & Ransom, 2008, p. 251). Even if the patient is wrong about the adverse event occurrence, it may still cause damage to the practitioner’s practice and credentials. The perspective of the patient is the most important determinant to whether an adverse event has occurred because they may be able to tell that something is wrong with their health or the health care organization may not be telling the whole truth.

Reference:

Ransom, E. R., Joshi, M. S., Nash, D. B., & Ransom, S. B. (2008). The Healthcare Quality Book: Vision, Strategy, and Tools (2nd ed.). Chicago: Health Administration Press.