According to Toker and Provonost, there is an estimated '40,000 to 80,000 ' U.S. Hospital deaths that are a result of misdiagnosis (para. 3). A diagnostic error is typically defined as a diagnosis that was incorrectly labeled, a missed diagnosis, or a delayed diagnosis of a condition. While not all misdiagnoses result in patient death, negligence in diagnosis can result in patient harm. For example, Toker and Provonost report that up to '9 percent ' of all cerebrovascular diagnoses are missed, and as a result, complications like stroke can increase in misdiagnosed patients 'five-fold. …show more content…
Furthermore, patient safety care also extends into general practitioner clinics. Fortunately, there are a variation of strategies that can be employed to ensure patient safety practices are adhered to correctly.
According to O 'Reilly, a panel of medical experts crafted a '955-page ' report for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (para. 2-3). The report details procedures that healthcare organizations may implement into their current procedures to ensure patient safety is sufficiently practiced.
To begin with, the first safety practice is to ensure all healthcare staff practice proper hygiene (O 'Reilly; para. 4). It has been shown by the World Health Organization, the Joint Commission, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the current rate of hand washing is a detrimentally low '39 percent average. ' It has been shown crucial that 'effective hand washing ' program initiative which details the proper procedure for washing hands, using alcohol-based rubs, and wearing protective gloves are a mandated practice that must be adhered to, to avoid cross-contamination of potentially illness-causing