For a patient, undergoing surgery may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For the professional operating on the patient, surgery may just be part of their daily grind. In fact, they may perform numerous procedures on any given workday, increasing their risk of preventable errors and professional burnout.
One of the tactics that hospitals use to reduce preventable surgical errors involves having a patient identify the surgical location with a permanent marker before receiving anesthesia or watch as medical professionals mark them.
Why do patients sometimes need to mark themselves or affirm the location marked by health care professionals?
Wrong-site and wrong-side errors are common
Surgeons and the professionals supporting them in an operating theater can easily make mistakes regarding where they perform the operation. Operating on the wrong side of the body is a surprisingly common surgical mistake, even if it is typically a preventable oversight.
The doctor sometimes operates on the wrong body part entirely. In both cases, the patient does not receive the care they require and may be unable to undergo a second procedure because of the error made by the surgical team. A mark made ahead of time helps prevent this from happening.
Unfortunately, patients sometimes learn after coming out of anesthesia that medical professionals made an egregious error that could drastically increase their recovery timeline and diminish their treatment options. Such errors are generally preventable and serious enough to warrant malpractice litigation.
Those who experience a surgical error may need help pursuing compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit. Reviewing medical errors and their consequences with a legal professional can help patients or their family members pursue appropriate compensation for major medical mistakes.