Patients go to the hospital to get help, but at times they wind up in worse shape than before they entered. Some are from medical errors, and many are caused by systems that don’t have enough checks and balances to make sure that any potential mishaps are caught before they can cause harm. continues…

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From Medical Economics magazine, more on hospitals ...

In the final scene of the movie Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler, a German businessman, laments that although he saved over a thousand people from death at the hands of the Nazis, he didn’t help enough. “I could have done more” is a line that has now become a classic.

Talking to physicians in recent months, I’ve heard similar self-reproach. Doctors are very hard on themselves. High standards are part of your hardwiring, and if you fall short, your self-image of being a really good doctor takes a hit. continues…

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From Medical Economics magazine, more on medical profession ...

It’s bad enough to misplace a paper chart containing private health information about one patient. Lose a computer flash drive, as a Minnesota physician did, and you put the privacy of several thousand patients at risk.

Theodore Nagel, a doctor at the University of Minnesota’s Reproductive Medicine Center, used the drive to back up his computer. It contains details of infertility treatments—a particularly private matter—for 3,100 patients, dating back to 1999, a reporter for WCCO-TV said. continues…

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From Medical Economics magazine, more on records ...