Help prevent hospital errors

Do all you can to help you and your providers and health care team stay on top of your care:

• Share your health information with providers in the hospital. Do not assume they already know it.
• Know what tests are being done. Ask what the test is for, ask for test results, and ask what the results mean for your health.
• Know what your condition is and the plan for treatment. Ask questions when you do not understand.
• Bring a family member or friend with you to the hospital. They can help get things done if you cannot help yourself.
• Find a primary care provider to work with you before, during (if possible), and after you are in the hospital. They can help if you have a lot of health problems or if you are in the hospital. They can help make the transition from hospital to home or other sites of care go more smoothly.

Go to a hospital you trust.

• Go to a hospital that does a lot of the type of surgery you are having.
• You want the providers and nurses to have a lot of experience with patients like you.

Make sure that you and your surgeon know exactly where or on which side you are getting your operation. Have the surgeon mark on your body where they will operate.

Remind family, friends, and providers to wash their hands:

• When they enter and leave your room
• Before and after touching you
• Before and after using gloves
• After using the bathroom

Tell your provider about:

• Any allergies or side effects you have to any medicines.
• All of the medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbs you take. Make a list of your medicines to keep in your wallet and show the list to first responders and medical professionals when needed. It might help to bring the medication bottles with you to show to the pharmacist or provider.
• Any medicines you brought from home. Do not take your own medicine unless your provider says it is OK. Tell your nurse if you take your own medicine.

Know about the medicine you will get in the hospital. Speak up if you think you are getting the wrong medicine or getting a medicine at the wrong time. Know or ask:

• Names of the medicines
• What each medicine does and its side effects
• What times you should get them in the hospital

All medicines should have a label with the name of the medicine on it. All syringes, tubes, bags, and pill bottles should have a label. If you do not see a label, ask your nurse what the medicine is.

Ask your nurse if you are taking any high-alert medicine. These medicines have a high potential for serious harm if not used correctly, for instance, blood thinners, insulin, and narcotic pain medicines. Ask what extra safety steps are being taken.

Contact your provider if you have concerns about hospital errors.

Medical errors - prevention; Patient safety - hospital errors

The Joint Commission website. 2024 National Patient Safety Goals. www.jointcommission.org/standards/national-patient-safety-goals/. Accessed July 23, 2024.

Wachter RM, Shoiania KG. Quality, safety, and value. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 10.

Updated by: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.