Assignment task:
Health care administrators and clinical staff struggle to help patients avoid medical errors and harm. According to a report from Johns Hopkins, "250,000 deaths occur each year due to medical errors" (p.1). Ethical dilemmas occur and are handled using best practices, centered on national benchmarks, for the prevention of harm, the application of medications, alarms, passive restraints, physical restraints, and the reporting of harm events. Yet even with the best of intentions, care plans, and patient education programs, medical errors continue to be an unsolved dilemma.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2023) states, "The CANDOR process toolkit provides a framework for hospitals to improve their response to unexpected patient harm events. Implementation of all elements of the framework is designed to enhance a number of short, and long-term improvements. In the short term, hospitals will develop processes to improve the reporting and monitoring of adverse events and promote better care for patients through candid, caring communication in the wake of an adverse event. In the longer term, hospitals will experience fewer medical liability claims, improved patient safety outcomes, and improved patient satisfaction scores by engaging patients and families throughout the CANDOR process" (p.1).
1. Describe common medical errors involving patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment, discharge, and follow-up care.
2. Explain how medical errors negatively impact the health care process for patients and caregivers and health care organization.
3. Summarize the application and steps in the CANDOR processes regarding improved communications and optimal resolution and the possible reduction in malpractice lawsuits.
4. Summarize the principle of medical ethics and the physician-patient relationship.