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American Morning
Paging Dr. Gupta: Finding the Best Hospital
Aired September 22, 2003 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A scathing report details what it calls deadly deficiencies at Children's Hospital in Boston. State health officials there say medical records led to the deaths of three people that could have been prevented. A top-to-bottom inspection and licensing review of that renowned institution now is under way today.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta today says the best way to avoid medical errors is to take an active role in your own health care. He's now from the CNN center with more advice on how to do that and how to find the hospital that is right for you, given your condition.
Sanjay, good to see you. Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Yes, Boston Children's Hospital, a fine hospital, but making errors, not alone. There's a lot of hospitals out there that have made errors.
In fact, there was an Institute of Medicine report that really started this debate a few years ago that showed between 44,000 to 98,000 deaths a year can be attributed to medical errors. Obviously, a very large amount. That's like a jumbo jet crashing almost every day, Bill, of medical errors alone.
So obviously a lot of choices patients make trying to empower themselves. While these errors happen perhaps to try and not let them happen to them, and a lot of that has to do with sort of arming yourself with information. A lot of people sort of know these things. They're not that difficult to figure out, but it's important to remind yourselves some basic tips. Really go to try and get as much information as you can about the hospital where you're going to get your treatment. How does this hospital rate? Not only in terms of the overall hospital, but in terms of the specific procedure you're going to have. How often is your procedure done at this particular hospital? Typically, the more the better. Some hospitals that are just occasionally doing the procedure may not be the best hospital for you.
And there's also these things, Bill, you and I talked about in the past called specialty hospitals, hospitals that are special for a certain condition, whether it be a heart condition, an orthopedic condition, something like that.
Also, how good is the hospital staff? Again, we're not just talking about the doctors here. We're talking about the nurses, as well. We're talking about pathologists who are going to read your biopsy results, things like that, typically nursing ratios on a general care for one to six. One nurse to six is considered the upper ends of normal. In an ICU, one to one or one to two.
And finally, just the overall structure of the hospital. How clean does it look? What do the resources look like? Things like that. Again, Bill, just basically arming yourself with as much information as possible, doing your homework. If you live in a community, find out about the hospital you're most likely to go to in case of an emergency, so you have that information before you get there -- Bill.
HEMMER: You know, Sanjay, as we talk about this, for a lot of patients trying to navigate, a large hospital can be a pretty daunting task. Are there other tips in order to -- that you would provide to ensure proper care?
GUPTA: Well, yes, it is a daunting task. And you know, Bill, the other thing is often they patient is sick, and have to make these incredibly difficult decisions at a time that they are ill, makes it even more daunting.
There are some specific tips that you can think about when you're thinking about trying to navigate through the hospital. One is they talk about these patient advocates. One is it could be someone who is a family member, or someone who knows something about the hospital. A lot of hospitals provide patient advocates themselves, someone you trust, someone who works well with the health care team. What are these patient advocates going to do specifically for you? There's all sorts of options, typically. When someone is diagnosed with a condition, there's often several options that may be available to them. Clarifying those, get information, asking questions.
You know, a lot of times patients don't offer all the information. They don't think it's important. A patient advocate, again, someone you trust, may help you navigate through that. Assure that your specific wishes are actually carried out, and communicate about treatment decisions. You know, really that doctor patient communication oftentimes that can be the most daunting thing of all. Oftentimes doctors not having enough time. Oftentimes patients afraid to ask the questions. Try and get through all that before an operation or procedure or something takes place -- Bill.
HEMMER: Good deal. Sanjay, thanks. Good to see you.
GUPTA: Good to see you. Take care.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 22, 2003 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A scathing report details what it calls deadly deficiencies at Children's Hospital in Boston. State health officials there say medical records led to the deaths of three people that could have been prevented. A top-to-bottom inspection and licensing review of that renowned institution now is under way today.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta today says the best way to avoid medical errors is to take an active role in your own health care. He's now from the CNN center with more advice on how to do that and how to find the hospital that is right for you, given your condition.
Sanjay, good to see you. Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Yes, Boston Children's Hospital, a fine hospital, but making errors, not alone. There's a lot of hospitals out there that have made errors.
In fact, there was an Institute of Medicine report that really started this debate a few years ago that showed between 44,000 to 98,000 deaths a year can be attributed to medical errors. Obviously, a very large amount. That's like a jumbo jet crashing almost every day, Bill, of medical errors alone.
So obviously a lot of choices patients make trying to empower themselves. While these errors happen perhaps to try and not let them happen to them, and a lot of that has to do with sort of arming yourself with information. A lot of people sort of know these things. They're not that difficult to figure out, but it's important to remind yourselves some basic tips. Really go to try and get as much information as you can about the hospital where you're going to get your treatment. How does this hospital rate? Not only in terms of the overall hospital, but in terms of the specific procedure you're going to have. How often is your procedure done at this particular hospital? Typically, the more the better. Some hospitals that are just occasionally doing the procedure may not be the best hospital for you.
And there's also these things, Bill, you and I talked about in the past called specialty hospitals, hospitals that are special for a certain condition, whether it be a heart condition, an orthopedic condition, something like that.
Also, how good is the hospital staff? Again, we're not just talking about the doctors here. We're talking about the nurses, as well. We're talking about pathologists who are going to read your biopsy results, things like that, typically nursing ratios on a general care for one to six. One nurse to six is considered the upper ends of normal. In an ICU, one to one or one to two.
And finally, just the overall structure of the hospital. How clean does it look? What do the resources look like? Things like that. Again, Bill, just basically arming yourself with as much information as possible, doing your homework. If you live in a community, find out about the hospital you're most likely to go to in case of an emergency, so you have that information before you get there -- Bill.
HEMMER: You know, Sanjay, as we talk about this, for a lot of patients trying to navigate, a large hospital can be a pretty daunting task. Are there other tips in order to -- that you would provide to ensure proper care?
GUPTA: Well, yes, it is a daunting task. And you know, Bill, the other thing is often they patient is sick, and have to make these incredibly difficult decisions at a time that they are ill, makes it even more daunting.
There are some specific tips that you can think about when you're thinking about trying to navigate through the hospital. One is they talk about these patient advocates. One is it could be someone who is a family member, or someone who knows something about the hospital. A lot of hospitals provide patient advocates themselves, someone you trust, someone who works well with the health care team. What are these patient advocates going to do specifically for you? There's all sorts of options, typically. When someone is diagnosed with a condition, there's often several options that may be available to them. Clarifying those, get information, asking questions.
You know, a lot of times patients don't offer all the information. They don't think it's important. A patient advocate, again, someone you trust, may help you navigate through that. Assure that your specific wishes are actually carried out, and communicate about treatment decisions. You know, really that doctor patient communication oftentimes that can be the most daunting thing of all. Oftentimes doctors not having enough time. Oftentimes patients afraid to ask the questions. Try and get through all that before an operation or procedure or something takes place -- Bill.
HEMMER: Good deal. Sanjay, thanks. Good to see you.
GUPTA: Good to see you. Take care.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
