MONAHRQ Demo - Surgical patient safety

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Surgical patient safety. Many health conditions are treated using surgery. About 3 out of 10 hospital stays involve a surgery. Surgical safety problems are mistakes or complications that happen as a result of what hospital staff (e.g., doctors, nurses, technicians) do and do not do before, during and after surgery. Each year in the United States about 85,000 patients develop an infection at their surgical site. Each year in the United States about 70,000 patients accidentally get cut or have a hole poked in an organ that was not part of the surgery. Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Comparing hospitals can help you spot potentially problematic safety concerns for hospitals you're considering.

Tips / Checklist: Do your homework. Understand there are ways to keep patients safe during surgery, and these actions should be taken with every patient, for every surgery. Talk about your safety. Ask your doctor to use the World Health Organization Safe Surgery Checklist which is proven to reduce the risk of death and complications from surgery. Have a team on your side.Bring someone with you to ask questions and listen when you see your doctor or are in the hospital. Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Comparing hospitals can help you make better health care decisions for you and your loved ones.

How do hospitals in In My State perform on Surgical patient safety? How often patients accidentally get cut or have a hole poked in an organ that was not part of the surgery: 0.3%. Number of times a surgical tool was accidentally left in a patient's body during surgery: -. Select for the Visual Report for Surgical Safety.

WHY SHOULD YOU COMPARE? All hospitals are not the same. Some are better overall, some are not so good. Some do well in some areas of care but not in others. Comparing hospitals helps: Spot potentially problematic safety concerns for hospitals you're considering. Make better health care decisions for you and your loved ones. Show you how hospitals you're considering perform in critical safety areas. Talking with your doctor shows you want to be a partner in your care. It also helps remind your care team to take certain actions to keep you as safe as possible. Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Find hospitals that perform best in the areas you care about.

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