32% - 87% Preventability of Medical Errors
- Patricia Maris
- Dec 17, 2024
- 11 min read
Reading Time: 10'21"
Word Count: 2,590
I. Introduction
32% - 87% Preventability of Medical Errors.
You read right. More than a third and up to nearly nine out of ten medical errors are preventable! So why not address the root causes? Sleep deprivation among healthcare providers is one factor that contributes significantly to this alarming rate.
Find out how we can ensure those caring for us have what they need to maximise safety - read on now, so you don't miss another chance at life-saving care.
A. What Is a Medical Error?
A medical error is an adverse effect caused by medical care that could have been prevented. These errors can range from incorrect diagnoses or treatments to medication mistakes, surgical errors, and more.
Health Care Professionals are often at the front of medical care, but this year they have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 concerning their physical and mental health – including sleep. According to expert research on stress levels in middle-aged adults, work pressures may interfere with the quality of rest necessary for overall wellbeing - an alarming issue as poor sleeping patterns can increase adverse outcomes among healthcare workers and their patients. It's now more critical than ever that we address this serious problem!
B. How Common Are Medical Errors?
Medical errors are a severe issue in Australia, with an estimated 140,000 cases of diagnostic error occurring each year. Research suggests that up to 8-9% of adverse events experienced by patients in hospitals can be attributed to medical errors. Furthermore, medication errors are also a problem in Australia, with estimates indicating that 2-3% of all Australian prescriptions are subject to errors.
A lack of sleep is one of the primary causes of medical errors in Australia, as it can reduce alertness and concentration levels among medical staff. This can result in mistakes being made when administering medications or diagnosing illnesses. Therefore, Health Care Professionals must ensure adequate rest and remain alert while on duty.
II. What Can Be Done To Reduce The Number Of Medical Errors Due To Lack Of Sleep?
There are several steps that healthcare providers can take to reduce the number of medical errors due to lack of sleep—for example, ensuring that all staff have enough time for sufficient rest between shifts, enforcing a set maximum number of consecutive shifts without rest or sleep, providing quiet and comfortable sleeping areas on-site, and minimising disruptions in the environment such as noise and bright lights.
It also encourages healthcare workers to actively pursue good sleep habits outside work, such as engaging in relaxation techniques before bed, limiting caffeine intake after noon, avoiding screens at least an hour before bedtime, exercising regularly, and avoiding greasy or heavy meals late in the day.
Taking these steps can help ensure that Health Care Professionals are well-rested and better able to make sound decisions when treating patients.
A. What Role Does Lack Of Sleep Play In Medical Errors?
Lack of sleep has been identified as one potential factor contributing to medical errors. Studies have found that Health Care Providers who need more sleep are likelier to make mistakes while on duty than those who get enough rest. This is because lack of sleep can lead to decreased concentration, poor decision-making skills, slower reaction times, and other cognitive deficits that can increase the risk of making mistakes while providing care.
B. The Risks Of Fatigue In The Healthcare Industry
Fatigue risks in the healthcare industry are a significant cause for concern, as they can lead to serious health issues and even death. Health Care Professionals are particularly at risk due to long working hours, disruption of circadian rhythm sleep, shift patterns including nights and wrong recovery time between changes. This can increase stress levels, burnout and even suicide among doctors. In addition, fatigue can also increase the risk of preventable patient deaths due to medical errors or adverse events.
To reduce these risks, healthcare organisations should assess fatigue-related risks and implement effective fatigue risk management systems (FRMS). These systems should use multiple overlapping levels of control to help protect against fatigue-related incidents.
C. How To Reduce Fatigue-related Medical Errors
Fatigue can be a significant factor in medical errors due to its impact on alertness, concentration and decision-making. Health Care Professionals should ensure adequate rest and sleep to reduce the risk of fatigue-related mistakes. They should also break up their workdays with breaks and take advantage of extra support from colleagues when needed.
It can be not easy to find organisations that put the health and wellbeing of their staff first. However, hospitals must establish policies promoting safe working conditions by setting clear expectations for hours and workloads. This helps ensure that medical personnel get adequate rest between shifts and minimises the potential for burnout or fatigue caused by long hours and heavy workloads.
In addition, healthcare organisations must invest in staff health initiatives such as providing access to fitness centres, meditation classes and wellness programs. These initiatives can help reduce the stress healthcare workers feel from their roles, reducing exhaustion levels and improving job satisfaction.
They can also help create a more positive work environment that encourages solid interpersonal relations between workers leading to improved patient outcomes. Investing in these initiatives is essential to creating healthier, more productive workplaces where staff can work safely and effectively.
We must immediately reduce the high suicide rate driven by fatigue;
procrastination is not an option.
D. Implementing Shift Length Limits To Reduce Fatigue
There are several steps healthcare organisations can take to reduce the number of medical errors due to lack of sleep:
Implementing strict limits on shift lengths for healthcare providers
Providing adequate breaks during shifts
Encouraging healthy sleeping habits among staff members
Ensuring staff members have access to mental health resources if needed
Educating staff members on the risks associated with fatigue and how it can impact their performance
Establishing clear protocols for reporting fatigue or other signs/symptoms related to lack of sleep
By taking these steps, healthcare organisations can help ensure their staff members get enough rest to provide safe and effective patient care without putting them at risk for preventable harm due to fatigue-related mistakes.
III. Australia Joins International Push To Halve Medication Errors by 2025
In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the third Global Patient Safety Challenge, 'Medication Without Harm', in Brisbane. This initiative aims to reduce medication errors by 50% within five years, and it is estimated that medication errors cost US$42 billion annually globally.
In Australia, up to 3% of hospital admissions are caused by medication-related issues and have an estimated annual cost of $1.2 billion. Nearly 30 nations worldwide were represented at this event in Brisbane, including China, Japan, the US, Malaysia, Singapore, and more.
A. The Australian Responds
To reduce medication errors, adverse drug events and hospital admissions due to prescription drugs by 50% in Australia by 2025, there is an emphasis on improving patient safety through initiatives such as increasing awareness of medication safety. This can be achieved by educating and training Health Care Professionals, designing systems that detect and prevent errors, and developing protocols and policies for safe prescribing.
Additionally, the collaboration between Health Care Professionals is key to ensuring communication accuracy and reducing errors associated with inappropriate drug ordering or administration.
Australia has also implemented several strategies to help reach this goal, including introducing a national system for monitoring adverse drug reactions, establishing a national reporting system for medication incidents, and implementing a national strategy for preventing medication errors.
These efforts are directed at providing guidelines for the safe use of medications, supporting improved decision-making when prescribing drugs, handovers between clinicians when discharging patients from hospitals, real-time monitoring of prescriptions compared to clinical guidelines and patient records on prescription errors.
Overall, reducing medication errors requires proactive measures that cover all aspects of safe prescribing practices —from proper patient identification processes to accurate information sharing among healthcare teams—and promote improved patient safety outcomes.
IV. Taking Control of Mental Health Through Reprogramming Your Rest
Taking control of your mental health begins by ensuring you get the rest you need. With the e7Doctors reprogramming your rest online wellness program, you can create a healthier sleeping pattern that will leave you energised and ready to tackle the day.
Reprogramming your rest is about better structuring and organising your sleeping habits, allowing for more energy during the day and enhancing overall wellbeing.
A. Reducing stress levels through restful activities
Reducing stress levels is essential for doctors and nurses to maintain mental health. Restful activities such as exercising, focus breathing, meditating and taking breaks at regular intervals make it possible to restore balance and reduce stress.
Taking time out of a busy schedule to participate in these activities helps with relaxation, which in turn aids physical and mental rejuvenation.
Regularly participating in these activities allows for more energy and focus during shifts while ensuring doctors and nurses can care for their patients better.
Additionally, reducing stress can help prevent burnout among Health Care Professionals and improve overall wellbeing.
B. Taking Naps During The Day Or Taking Long Periods Off To Engage In Activities That Are Enjoyable Or Nourishing
Taking naps during the day or taking long periods off to engage in enjoyable or nourishing activities can be an excellent way to restore energy, reduce stress and promote mental health.
Naps can provide energy that allows you to focus better on your tasks while providing much-needed rest. Similarly, taking time off to engage in activities like reading, exercising or spending time with friends can help increase endorphins and reduce stress levels. These activities help foster a healthier relationship with your free time, allowing for more daily enjoyment and relaxation.
C. Additional Benefits Of Getting Adequate Amounts Of Rest
Getting adequate rest is essential for our overall physical and mental health, and it can help reduce stress, improve concentration, manage emotions, and even save lives.
Studies have shown that getting enough sleep can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. Additionally, getting enough rest can help with cognitive performance and memory recall, and it also helps to regulate hormones that affect mood and energy levels.
Getting enough rest is especially important for Health Care Professionals as it can help them make better decisions when treating their patients and ensure they can provide the best care possible.
V. Doctors, Nurses and Med Students: Find Your Restorative Practice
A. Definition of Restorative Practices
Restorative practice is any treatment that focuses on returning individuals to their former health or wellbeing -in other words, to find balance. This includes both conventional and alternative therapies, as well as lifestyle changes.
Standard restorative practices range from medication to physical therapy, nutrition counselling, meditation and relaxation techniques.
The goal is to reduce fatigue, improve overall health and wellbeing, and restore equilibrium within the body's systems.
Restorative practices may also include strategies such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychotherapy to improve mental health and reduce stress. Combining these healthy practices can help an individual maintain optimum physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
B. Benefits Of Engaging In These Practices
Physical activity, self-care, and employee engagement are all critical practices that can positively impact our health and wellbeing. Physical activity has been proven to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cancer while strengthening bones and muscles.
Self-care activities such as meditation and journaling can help us become more compassionate and thoughtful partners. Finally, employee engagement has improved morale, increased customer satisfaction, and boosted profits. These practices have unique benefits that can make a real difference.
C. Physicians, Nurses And Medical Students Are Invited To Join The Mission Of Finding Their Restorative Practice Through The e7Doctors Online Wellness Program
Health Care Professionals often work long shifts in stressful, high-pressure environments. As a result, they can be exposed to significantly higher levels of exhaustion and stress than the average person, leaving them more vulnerable to feelings of hopelessness and despair. The e7Doctors and Nurses program seeks to reduce and prevent suicide among Health Care Professionals by helping them learn how to manage their mental health through restoration practices such as better sleep hygiene and stress reduction techniques.
In addition, this innovative initiative offers access to wellness strategy sessions to get on top of your wellbeing.
The e7Doctor wellness program is powered by enigma7, a preventative health and wellness company committed to restoring balance in life. This Online Wellness Program offers tailored programs and services such as discounted rates for junior doctors, nurses, allied professionals & med students - plus exclusive tools & resources explicitly designed to support you in finding that equilibrium.
We invite all Health Care Professionals interested in learning more about the e7Doctors wellness program to subscribe by clicking the link below.
Fifteen minutes daily can make a massive difference in busy Health Care Professionals' lives. By providing better access to resources, we can help create a healthier workplace environment for everyone involved –one focused on promoting wellbeing instead of burnout.
By joining this unique program, nurses and physicians are gaining the opportunity to discover how they can positively impact those in their care whilst looking after the 'whole of them'. It allows them to assess their psychological health and collaborate with others whose careers have been dedicated to providing quality medical aid for many years.
VI. Conclusion/Summary
If my life is in your hands in a hospital, I demand that you are well rested! Being surrounded by people who care for you with the utmost respect and attention is important as a patient. This includes visitors who should adhere to the hospital's visiting hours so that patients can get plenty of rest. It is also important for medical staff to be well-rested so they can provide the best possible care for their patients. Knowing that someone you love is very ill and in need of special care can be worrying, but understanding the importance of rest for patients and medical staff can help make the experience less stressful.
A. Shocking consequences of medical negligence
The consequences of medical negligence in Australia are shocking: every year, 18 000 lives are taken prematurely while 50 000 more people suffer disabling injuries. But it's even worse elsewhere - with as many as 98 000 fatalities and an alarming 1 million additional victims annually within the United States alone! It is a worrying situation that needs urgent attention.
It is time to do something!
B. A pilot study of the safety implications of Australian nurses' sleep and work hours
• Adverse events in Australian healthcare is a rising concern.
• A recent state government report found "death or serious harm" in 31 events and 452 "very high risk" incidents.
• An Australia-wide study identified 2,324 adverse medical events (AME), over half deemed preventable.
• Few studies assessed the fatigue of healthcare professionals, including nurses' extended & unpredictable work hours.
• 23 full-time nurses logged their work hours, sleep length/quality, sleepiness & fatigue levels for one month.
• 36% of nurses struggled to remain awake at work; moderate+ stress & exhaustion reported on 23%, 40%, 36%.
• 11-45 near accidents reported with 20 errors, 13 near errors & 22 observed errors made by others.
• Overall sleep duration shorter on days with an error/relative error compared to other days; sleep duration predicted likelihood of error occurrence.
• These findings suggest Australian nurses experience sleepiness at work and while commuting, which may contribute to the increased chance of making an error or decreased chance of catching someone else's error.
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