Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them

331 Pages·2012·1.73 MB·English

by  Joe Graedon

ALSO BY JOE AND TERESA GRAEDON
The People’s Pharmacy-2 (Avon, 1980)
Joe Graedon’s The New People’s Pharmacy:
Drug Breakthroughs of the ’80s (Bantam, 1985)
The People’s Pharmacy, Totally New and Revised
(St. Martin’s Press, 1985)
50+: The Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy for Older Adults
(Bantam, 1988)
Graedons’ Best Medicine: From Herbal Remedies to High-Tech
Rx Breakthroughs (Bantam, 1991)
The Aspirin Handbook: A User’s Guide to the Breakthrough Drug of the ’90s
(Bantam, 1993) with Tom Ferguson, MD
The People’s Guide to Deadly Drug Interactions:
How to Protect Yourself from Life-Threatening Drug/Drug, Drug/Food,
Drug/Vitamin Combinations (St. Martin’s Press, 1995)
The People’s Pharmacy, Completely New and Revised
(St. Martin’s Press, 1996, 1998)
Dangerous Drug Interactions: How to Protect Yourself from Harmful
Drug/Drug,
Drug/Food, Drug/Vitamin Combinations (St. Martin’s Press, 1999)
The People’s Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies
(St. Martin’s Press, 1999)
Best Choices from The People’s Pharmacy (Rodale, 2006, 2007)
The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies
(National Geographic, 2011)
ALSO BY JOE GRAEDON
The People’s Pharmacy: A Guide to Prescription Drugs, Home Remedies, and
Over-the-Counter Medications (St. Martin’s Press, 1976)
No Deadly Drug (Pocket Books, 1992),
a novel by Joe Graedon and Tom Ferguson, MD
ALSO BY TERESA GRAEDON
Chocolate Without Guilt (Graedon Enterprises, 2002),
a cookbook by Terry Graedon and Kit Gruelle

Copyright © 2011 by Graedon Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Archetype, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a
division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
CROWN ARCHETYPE with colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Graedon, Joe.
Top screwups doctors make and how to avoid them /
Joe Graedon & Teresa Graedon.—1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Medical errors. I. Graedon, Teresa, 1947– II. Title.
R729.8.G73 2011
610.28′9—dc23 2011016332
eISBN: 978-0-307-46093-6
Jacket design by Nupoor Gordon
v3.1
This Book Is Dedicated to
the Memory of Helen Graedon
Who lived her life with courage, compassion, enthusiasm,
and perseverance. Her love and support nourished us over the decades.
We hope this book will mean that her tragic death was not in vain.
and
To health care providers who strive to offer patients safe, effective, and
compassionate care.
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Preface
Safe Patient Checklist
1 Introduction
CHAPTER
2 Top 10 Screwups Doctors Make
CHAPTER
3 Diagnostic Disasters
CHAPTER
4 Top 10 Reasons Why Doctors Screw Up Diagnoses
CHAPTER
5 Preventing Diagnostic Problems
CHAPTER
6 Top 10 Screwups Doctors Make When Prescribing
CHAPTER
7 Drug Interactions Can Be Deadly
CHAPTER
8 Top 10 Screwups Pharmacists Make
CHAPTER
9 Generic Drug Screwups
CHAPTER
10 The Screwing of Senior Citizens
CHAPTER
11 Top 10 Screwups Patients Make
CHAPTER
12 Closing the Communication Chasm
CHAPTER
13 Top Screwups in Common Conditions
CHAPTER
Acne
Alzheimer’s Disease
Arthritis
Asthma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Back Pain
Breast Cancer
Celiac Disease
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Depression
Diabetes
Fibromyalgia
Heartburn
Hypothyroidism
Migraine Headache
Osteoporosis
Prostate Problems
Tick-borne Diseases
Appendix 1 Top 10 List of Potentially Problematic Pills
Appendix 2 Top 10 Tips and Questions Lists
Top 10 Tips to Stopping Screwups in Hospitals
Top 10 Screwups Doctors Make
Top 10 Diagnostic Screwups
Top 10 Reasons Why Doctors Screw Up Diagnoses
Top 10 Questions to Ask to Reduce Diagnostic Disasters
Top 10 Screwups Doctors Make When Prescribing
Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Doctor When You Get a
Prescription
Top 11 Tips for Preventing Dangerous Drug Interactions
Top 10 Screwups Pharmacists Make
Top 10 Tips for Taking Generic Drugs
Top 10 Tips to Surviving Old Age
Top 10 Screwups Patients Make
Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before Agreeing to Surgery
Top 10 Tips to Promote Good Communication
Notes
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
The patient safety movement has taken root. There are now many
physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers working
diligently to improve the current disastrous situation. There is a great
deal of work to be done, but these pioneering souls are leading the way
through their research, outreach, and direct interaction with patients.
It isn’t possible to list all the people who have in some way
contributed to our understanding of the scope of the problem and the
steps needed for improvement. Here are just some of the individuals who
have helped make this book possible directly or indirectly. We also want
to acknowledge all the patients and family members who have
contributed their stories through our newspaper column, radio show,
and website.
Jerry Avorn, MD, is one of the country’s leading experts in drug safety.
His innovative research has helped us understand some of the pitfalls in
clinical trials. We are especially grateful for his attention to the problems
that drugs can pose for older people.
David Bates, MD, is one of the pioneers in the patient safety movement.
We are grateful for his research and his efforts to move his colleagues
forward.
Steven Feldman, MD, PhD, is a dermatologist who has thought long and
hard about the issues of communication between physicians and patients
and the ways it can go awry. We recommend his book Compartments:
How the Brightest, Best Trained, and Most Caring People Can Make
Judgments That Are Completely and Utterly Wrong.