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Medical errors claim the lives of 90,000 every year in US Hospitals

Author says many mistakes can be prevented by improving communications. The recent medical error that claimed the life of a 17-year-old Mexican girl at Duke University Hospital who received organs from a donor with a different blood type was completely preventable through some basic rules about conversations, according to author Joseph Grenny. "Research has made it clear that many of the 90,000 fatal mistakes made each year in U.S. hospitals are the result of staff inability to candidly and directly challenge physicians," said the co-author of the New York. Tunes bestselling book "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High". "We were contacted by one hospital after a woman had her foot amputated when she was admittedtfor a tonsillectomy. Hospitals call this a 'wrong-site surgery.' We call it an unforgivable mistake - because any of seven people could have averted that disaster by doing one simple thing: speaking up." Grenny explains that, "hospital staffers are so intimidated by physicians that they often avoid speaking up even when they notice things that look risky. We will never reach our potential for high quality patient care until we have the full engagement and insight of the entire care giving team. And that means all have to be willing and able to speak up at any time." The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which gives safety certification to 80 percent of American health facilities, seems to agree. In January 2004, the JCAHO standards will include a man atory provision to "Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers." It .turns out, if you want a healthy" outcome" from your hospital visit, you'd better choose a provider that trains and educates its employees in modem and effective communication. Grenny adds, "We have known that the ability to handle crucial conversations well determines an organization's performance, efficiency and the quality of its products. Now, we have hard evidence these same skills may make the difference between being. healed and being seriously hurt when you visit your local hospital. We've seen a direct correlation between staff candor about patient-related issues with physicians and almost every measure of hospital performancefrom quality to profitability, to nursing turnover."

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