Wrong Site Surgeries Remain a Common Concern

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Wrong site surgeries are considered “never” events because they are entirely avoidable if the surgical staff follows the established protocols. Yet, a recent national survey found that 65 percent of operating room nurses in the U.S. cite wrong-site surgery as their number one safety concern. These errors are not as infrequent as we might like to think. Some estimate that wrong site surgeries occur 400 times per week nationally. This is only an estimate because it is believed that such medical errors are woefully under-reported.
Wrong site surgeries include:
– Surgery performed on the incorrect side or site of the body
– Incorrect surgery
– Surgery performed on the wrong patient
– Such medical mistakes constitute a grave crisis in our healthcare system. What makes it worse is that no one has a firm grasp of just how often these errors occur. Something must change!

Kevin Dugan
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