In 2013, Joe Kiani founded the Patient Safety Movement after years of studying alarming statistics that revealed how many preventable deaths were occurring in hospitals. Seven years later the growing organization has almost 5000 hospitals across the nation committed to the mission of ZERO preventable deaths and as such those hospitals report over 90,000 lives saved each year.
One of the biggest differences someone can make to ensure their loved one receives proper care is to be involved as the patient’s advocate. A recent study revealed that patients speak for an average of 12 seconds before being interrupted by the medical provider. To ensure that the patient voices his or her concerns and the doctor actually hears those concerns the Patient Safety Movement suggests the following:
1. Prioritize concerns. Doctors are busy and they really do have limited time to discuss the patient’s issues and answer questions. Prepare a list prior to the visit and put the most concerning issues at the top of the list.
2. Obtain the preferred method of communication for the physician so that follow up questions can be addressed. Some may prefer email, use a patient portal or have set office hours for calls. Keep a list of all providers and their preferred method of contact.
3. Make sure the patient’s Incapacity Planning documents such as the Health Care Power of Attorney and Advance Directives are up to date and made accessible to all medical providers.
For assistance in Incapacity Planning and End of Life Planning, please contact Stouffer Legal at 443-470-3599 in the Greater Baltimore area.
