Rhode Island Hospital Fined $150,000 After Performing 5th Wrong Site Surgery Since 2007

[WriteDown]

Source: AP

Rhode Island's largest hospital was fined $150,000 and ordered to take the extraordinary step of installing video cameras in all its operating rooms after it had its fifth wrong-site surgery since 2007, state health officials said Monday.

Rhode Island Hospital, the teaching hospital for Brown University's Alpert Medical School, was fined a second time for wrong-site surgeries, state health director David Gifford said. The hospital also was fined $50,000 after brain surgeons operated on the wrong part of the heads of three patients in 2007. Gifford said his department has issued only two fines — both to Rhode Island Hospital.

Gifford sent a letter and order to hospital CEO Timothy Babineau on Monday.

The latest incident last month involved a patient who was to have surgery on two fingers. Instead, the surgeon performed both operations on the same finger. Under protocols adopted in the medical field, the surgery site should have been marked and the surgical team should have taken a timeout before cutting to ensure they were operating on the right patient, the right part of the patient's body and doing the correct procedure.

Gifford said the surgical team marked the wrist, rather than each finger, and the surgeon did not mark the site himself. The team did not take a timeout before the second surgery. When they discovered the error, they checked with the patient's family to see if they should perform the surgery on the correct finger. When they did the surgery on the correct finger, they also did not do a timeout, something Gifford called "amazing" given that they had just made such a serious error...

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571287,00.html?test...

---

Healthcare isn't going to matter with Dr's like these! Yikes.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. FIVE wrong surgeries!!!! There is something really wrong at that hospital!!

[WriteDown]

2. I can't understand why anyone would go here at this point...

I'd drive 100 miles with a sliced artery to get to another hospital.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Give me a local so I can keep an eye on those fuckers.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. LOL When I had knee surgery, I wrote "NOT THIS ONE" on the knee that was not to be operated on.

In big black magic marker letters...

[WriteDown]

9. You're actually not supposed to do that because it confuses them..

You're only supposed to mark the limb to be operated. Trust someone who's been through about 2 surgeries a year for 20 years. Luckily, I have never been to this hospital though.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. I was still awake when I went into surgery and the surgeon laughed when he saw it..

[WriteDown]

12. Most surgeons I've met have pretty good senses of humor...

I'm just talking about the procedure that has been drummed in my head over and over.

[Thor_MN]

13. Explain to me how "cut on the dotted line" on my right arm is supposed to help

When they start to cut into my left arm?

[BrklynLiberal]

5. I agree. they should not even be allowed to be doing surgeries...

[imdjh]

4. I"ll bet they bill for it anyway.

[tkarolewics711]

6. And the Republicans are still fighting for tort reform?

I have a great deal of respect for doctors, but they have to be held accountable. Just think of how many times some one did not have a knee replacement performed on the wrong knee, or how many surgical sponges were not left in someone's head because a doctor took the extra time to double check because he was scared shitless of being sued.

[emilyg]

8. When I had breast removed - put a

big X on the one to go.

[CreekDog]

11. Look it's Mr. McCraig, with a leg for an arm and an arm for a leg!