Study Finds Tired Doctors Make More Medical Errors
It’s a fact that Indiana medical malpractice lawyers have long been aware of. Every year, thousands of patients are severely or fatally injured from errors made by their doctors, and a new study shows that there are internal factors that increase the risk of such medical errors.
A study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic confirms that the risk of medical errors made by residents, increases with the doctor's fatigue and stress levels. The study surveyed 430 internal medical residents who were questioned every three months from 2003 to 2008 about any medical errors they made, as well as stress, fatigue, burnout, sleepiness and depression.
• Out of 370 residents who answered questions about medical errors, 39 percent admitted that they had made at least one major medical error.
• There was also a connection between these medical errors and tiredness. The researchers found that for every single point increase in fatigue, the resident's chances of making a medical error increased by 14 percent.
• Also, for every single point increase in the sleepiness score, the chances of making an error increased by 10 percent.
• Besides sleepiness and fatigue, medical errors were also more frequently seen in doctors suffering from depression, or experiencing burnout symptoms.
This much is clear - the overall quality of a doctor's life has much to do with his potential for making medical errors. These risks are not an exaggeration. According to the Institute of Medicine, every year approximately 100,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors. It’s therefore important that we identify measures that can help them manage stress and fatigue better.
There is some good news for Merrillville medical malpractice lawyers, who would like to see more attention focused on this problem. Hospitals are taking the question of stress and fatigue more seriously than before, and some changes have been made to doctor training to address fatigue and stress issues. Although these measures are important, we need to do much more to promote the well being of doctors, and reduce the possibility of errors. Besides, there is also very little attention being paid to older doctors, in the 65 to 70 age group. These doctors may deal with stress and fatigue in different ways, making it important to identify de-stressing measures for them too.
It doesn’t take super smarts to understand that a tired, stressed and depressed doctor is less likely to be invested in the care of his patients. Too many lives are lost every year to mistakes made by doctors, and as Indiana medical malpractice lawyers, we believe we should be giving this problem the attention it deserves.
