Dr. Marty Makary, a cancer surgeon and researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the School of Public Health, has written a new book entitled, “Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care.” In the book, Dr. Makary observes that one of the leading causes of high medical costs is the soaring error rates in hospitals. He noted that about a quarter of patients are harmed by mistakes in hospitals. A New York medical malpractice attorney can advise about your rights if you are the victim of a hospital error.
Dr. Makary further observed that doctors are under more and more pressure to fill hospital beds and perform extra procedures, whether or not the procedures are necessary. He suggested that a second opinion is of vital importance before a patient undertakes a medical procedure. Dr. Makary also made the following suggestions:
- Patients should be made aware of all their treatment options, including active surveillance or vigilant waiting, as opposed to treatment, surgery, or medication.
- Patients should learn about a mistake as soon as it happens.
- Patients should have easy and inexpensive access to their medical records.
- Hospitals should report complication rates in a way that is meaningful and user-friendly to patients.
Dr. Makary believes that the public’s complacency and blind trust in the medical system are key causes of the problems of lack of transparency and the resulting high medical costs. Any New York medical malpractice attorney will confirm that medical injuries are widespread and their victims are entitled to just compensation.
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If you or someone you love has suffered an injury while in the hospital or any other personal injury, contact New York and New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. at (800) 529-9997 or www.lawyertime.com for a free consultation.
