Medical mystery: alcoholism didn’t cause man’s diabetes and cirrhosis.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

Medical mystery: alcoholism didn’t cause man’s diabetes and cirrhosis.

June 29, 2011

Boodman SG. Washington Post. June 13, 2011:E1.

View more articles from the same authors.

This newspaper article reveals how biases and lack of trust in the patient/family perspective may contribute to diagnostic error.

Free full text

Related Resources From the Same Author(s)

The pain of wrong site surgery.

July 6, 2011

Shifting the risks at night.

June 22, 2011

Five simple steps to avoid becoming a medical mystery.

December 14, 2016

Electronic medicine can send you test results quickly. But what if they're scary?

April 11, 2018

The other big drug problem: older people taking too many pills.

December 20, 2017

Misdiagnosis is more common than drug errors or wrong-site surgery.

May 22, 2013

Anger management courses are a new tool for dealing with out-of-control doctors.

March 13, 2013

A silent epidemic.

March 7, 2007

What a doctor may miss by reaching for the MRI first.

May 28, 2014

She was headed to a locked psych ward. Then an ER doctor made a startling discovery.

March 2, 2022

Not ‘just depression.’ She seemed trapped in a downward mental health spiral. The real cause was a profound shock.

February 3, 2021

Two words can soothe patients who have been harmed: we're sorry.

March 29, 2017

Double-booked: when surgeons operate on two patients at once.

July 26, 2017

Some doctors questioning whether shorter shifts for interns are endangering patients.

July 24, 2013

Not quite fail-safe: computerizing isn't a panacea for dangerous drug errors, study shows.

April 3, 2005

Suicides point to gaps in treatment. Errors in psychiatric diagnoses and drugs plague strained immigration system.

May 21, 2008

A woman’s laborious search uncovered the probable cause of her searing abdominal pain. Getting a doctor to help was much harder.

March 3, 2021

Trail of medical missteps in a Peace Corps death.

August 6, 2014

From heart disease to IUDs: how doctors dismiss women’s pain.

December 21, 2022

US drug shortages threatening those whose lives depend on crucial remedies.

May 18, 2011

How Veterans Affairs failed to stop a pathologist who misdiagnosed 3,000 cases.

September 11, 2019

How one medical checkup can snowball into a ‘cascade’ of tests, causing more harm than good.

January 22, 2020

Your diagnosis was wrong. Could doctor bias have been a factor?

December 11, 2019

Suspicious insulin injections, nearly a dozen deaths: inside an unfolding investigation at a VA hospital in West Virginia.

October 23, 2019

Teaming up to prevent 'crashes': some hospitals give patients the power to get extra help, stat.

September 19, 2007

Get me out alive.

May 17, 2006

Hospitals save money, but safety is questioned.

January 4, 2006

Hospitals tally their avoidable mistakes.

August 5, 2009

Hospital discharge: it's one of the most dangerous periods for patients.

May 11, 2016

Rating hospitals by the stars: the feds' latest plan to measure quality is the most controversial.

June 1, 2016

Medicare study finds teaching hospitals have higher risk of complications; findings disputed.

February 29, 2012

Spikes in demand from coronavirus patients are creating shortages of asthma drugs and sedatives for ventilator patients.

April 22, 2020

Medication errors resulting from confusion between risperidone (Risperdal) and ropinirole (Requip).

June 22, 2011

A growing number of primary-care doctors are burning out. How does this affect patients?

April 9, 2014

Medicare takes aim at boomerang hospitalizations of nursing home patients.

June 27, 2018

Independent double checks: undervalued and misused.

June 26, 2013

Guidelines for timely medication administration: response to the CMS "30-minute rule."

January 26, 2011

My patient almost died from a mistake I made. I apologized and it changed my life.

November 6, 2019

Bipartisan Consensus: The Public Wants Well-Rested Medical Residents to Help Ensure Safe Patient Care.

October 5, 2016

‘No one is listening to us’.

November 25, 2020

Her child was stillborn at 39 weeks. She blames a system that doesn’t always listen to mothers.

November 30, 2022

Hospitals look to computers to predict patient emergencies before they happen.

May 22, 2019

Prescription drug overload: critics fighting to curb an epidemic of medication side effects.

January 29, 2020

High-alert medications: the safeguards that you should put in place to reduce risks.

November 1, 2017

Report suggests trend in prescription drug errors filled by pharmacists.

February 25, 2015

Medical malpractice: the fear factor.

September 29, 2010

Settlement to be used for hospital training in labeling medicines.

September 21, 2005

I’m an ER doctor: here’s what I found when I asked ChatGPT to diagnose my patients.

March 22, 2023

Feds move to rein in prior authorization, a system that harms and frustrates patients.

March 22, 2023

Anesthesia outside of the OR: cause for patient safety concerns?

January 25, 2023

Malnutrition in the hospital: the pharmacist’s role in prevention and treatment.

September 26, 2018

Do some surgical implants do more harm than good?

April 29, 2020

Nurse Vaught sentenced for deadly medical error.

May 25, 2022

A boy's life is lost to sepsis. Thousands are saved in his wake.

April 26, 2017

Addressing the Loss of Trust in Safety Culture.

September 7, 2022

Surgeons must tell patients of double-booked surgeries, new guidelines say.

April 27, 2016

Medication errors: the year in review: January through December 2021.

January 11, 2023

Hospital workers complain of minimal disclosure after COVID exposures.

May 27, 2020

Surviving a bad diagnosis.

September 28, 2016

Resolving human conflicts when questions about the safety of medical orders arise.

March 26, 2008

Practitioners agree on medication reconciliation value, but frustration and difficulties abound.

July 26, 2006

In U.S. nursing homes, where Covid-19 killed scores, even reports of maggots and rape don’t dock five-star ratings.

March 24, 2021

Errors associated with oxytocin use: a multi-organization analysis by ISMP and ISMP Canada.

March 11, 2020

Recommendations for practitioners and manufacturers to address system-based causes of vaccine errors.

March 26, 2014

My life was upended for 35 years by a cancer diagnosis. A doctor just told me I was misdiagnosed.

April 7, 2021

A doctor gave me an inept diagnosis for a neurological problem. I should know: I’m a neurologist.

October 14, 2020

To eliminate bias, some seek out doctors of their own race or ethnicity.

December 22, 2021

Ambulance crew in Chicago got lost trying to find hospital.

November 7, 2007

Reused devices, surgery's deadly suspects.

January 18, 2006

Hospitals scramble on the front lines of drug shortages.

April 25, 2012

Cedars-Sinai doctors cling to pen and paper: transition to electronic medical records proves difficult.

April 3, 2005

Patient safety leader reflects on ‘To Err is Human’ report

December 11, 2019

Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Programs and Medication Safety: Parts I and II.

August 9, 2023

Roxane Laboratories initiates a nationwide voluntary recall of a single manufacturing lot of Azathioprine tablets in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

July 26, 2006

Potentially fatal errors with GDH-PQQ [glucose dehydrogenase pyrroloquinoline quinone] glucose monitoring technology.

October 21, 2009

How to seek care for non-covid health issues during the pandemic, and why you shouldn’t delay.

September 29, 2021

First, Do No Harm.

September 14, 2011

Impact of a pharmacist-directed pain management service on inpatient opioid use, pain control, and patient safety.

February 27, 2019

A Hospital Accident: Lessons Learned – A Death, A Conviction, and A Healing.

June 8, 2011

Patient alarms often unheard, unheeded.

February 23, 2011

New U.S. health crisis looms as patients without COVID-19 delay care.

July 29, 2020

Medical misdiagnoses can have fatal consequences.

July 6, 2011

Final Report of the Commission on Care.

August 3, 2016

Applying the Universal Protocol to improve patient safety in radiology services.

June 22, 2011

As college students return, a crisis in campus care awaits.

July 29, 2020

Complaints and Raising Concerns.

February 4, 2015

National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Patient Safety Measures: A Consensus Report.

June 27, 2012

Serious Reportable Events in Healthcare—2011 Update.

May 30, 2007

First do no harm.

March 23, 2011

Benefits and risks of including patients on RCA teams.

June 18, 2008

FDA Advise-ERR: prevent dangerous drug-device interaction causing falsely elevated glucose levels.

July 2, 2008

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.

March 31, 2011

Parents can detect, contribute to, or be affected by critical events during a child’s hospitalization.

June 29, 2011

Scanner beep only means the barcode has been scanned.

July 13, 2011

A hard look at hard stops and workarounds in the acute care setting.

July 12, 2023

Health literacy and patient safety events.

July 13, 2016

Partnering to Heal: Teaming-Up Against Healthcare-Associated Infections.

July 20, 2011

Department of Defense Health Care Quality.

January 10, 2007

The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Lecture 2011: New Frontiers in Patient Safety.

October 19, 2011

Medicaid program; payment adjustment for provider-preventable conditions including health care–acquired conditions.

March 2, 2011

Related Resources

Annual Perspective

Improving Diagnostic Safety and Quality

April 26, 2023

Patient Safety Innovations

Enhancing Support for Patients’ Social Needs to Reduce Hospital Readmissions and Improve Health Outcomes

March 29, 2023

A System in Need of Repair: Addressing Organizational Failures of the U.S.’s Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

August 17, 2022

WebM&M Cases

Delayed Diagnosis of Kidney Transplant Complications

February 23, 2022

Patient.

October 19, 2020

The risks of the prescribing cascade.

September 16, 2020

Their kids died on the psych ward. They were far from alone, a Times investigation found.

December 18, 2019

Patient safety incidents in advance care planning for serious illness: a mixed-methods analysis

October 9, 2019

Unleash the power of patients to make care safer around the world: an essay by Helen Haskell.

September 25, 2019

How Veterans Affairs failed to stop a pathologist who misdiagnosed 3,000 cases.

September 11, 2019

Patient Safety Primers

Patient Engagement and Safety

September 7, 2019

Consumers' perspectives on their involvement in recognizing and responding to patient deterioration—developing a model for consumer reporting.

July 24, 2019

Lessons learned from a death outside a hospital's doorstep.

June 26, 2019

Patients managing medications and reading their visit notes: a survey of OpenNotes participants.

June 5, 2019

Making infection prevention and control everyone's business? Hospital staff views on patient involvement.

June 5, 2019

FDA to end program that hid millions of reports on faulty medical devices.

May 29, 2019

Communication and Resolution After an Adverse Health Care Incident.

May 22, 2019

The Canadian Quality and Patient Safety Framework for Health and Social Services.

May 22, 2019

When a nurse is prosecuted for a fatal medical mistake, does it make medicine safer?

April 17, 2019

When is the surgeon too old to operate?

February 13, 2019

Doctors make mistakes. A new documentary explores what happens when they do—and how to fix it.

February 6, 2019

Heart Failure: The Decline of a Historic Transplant Program.

January 30, 2019

Check your medical records for dangerous errors.

December 5, 2018

Insulin pumps have most reported problems in FDA database.

December 5, 2018

FDA Safety Communication: use caution with implanted pumps for intrathecal administration of medicines for pain management.

November 28, 2018

Making Hospitals Safe for People With Diabetes.

October 31, 2018

My human doctor.

October 17, 2018

You've detailed your last wishes, but doctors may not see them.

April 11, 2018

Speak Up Video Series.

January 30, 2018

Annual Perspective

Patient Engagement in Safety

January 1, 2017

See More About The Topic

Hospitals

Patients

Family Members and Caregivers

Endocrinology

Hematology