Comments on: Dennis Quaid Recounts Twins' Drug Ordeal

Actor Tells 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft Medical Errors Kill Thousands

[nurseslaven]

double check, patient route, right med ect checks and balances, the computerized bar coding system is great but the nurse nurse still needs to make sure she is giving the right med and the right dose. No excuse!
Rn in Ohio

[jdkucher]

I''ve very disappointed by this story, it was informative, but I thought journalism should be unbiased. The role of the hospital and staff were completely ignored, while Baxter Pharmaceuticals was attacked. Baxter did nothing wrong but were the main target of the story. There was nothing wrong with the product except that the wrong drug was administered. Why not report on ways to fix this instead of blaming the pharmaceutical company. They issued a noticed and changed the label. Why should they recall a product that works properly just because someone didn''t read the label.

[jdkucher]

I''ve very disappointed by this story, it was informative, but I thought journalism should be unbiased. The role of the hospital and staff were completely ignored, while Baxter Pharmaceuticals was attacked. Baxter did nothing wrong but were the main target of the story. There was nothing wrong with the product except that the wrong drug was administered. Why not report on ways to fix this instead of blaming the pharmaceutical company. They issued a noticed and changed the label. Why should they recall a product that works properly just because someone didn''t read the label.

What happened to unbiased reporting you usually report. In all your reports in this episode you were

[youngfeller-2009]

I think the real problem is understaffing in the pharmacy.The first link in the chain is the pharmacy.In an effort to save money hospitals do not have enough help.Pharmacys often don''t have enough help to get the the right med or the right dose to the units in a speedy way. This sets the stage for mistakes.

[scranch18121]

I notice you do not have a way for the public to comment or respond on the story before Dennis Quaid''s ordeal with his children. 60 Minutes should be ashamed at the story "Killings in Haditha". If you need reminding WE ARE AT WAR. We train our young men to go over there and fight for our freedom and when under fire they do what they are trained to do.... you second guess them. This was not a news story with both sides reported on it was a liberal attack on our fine Army, Marines, and other forces we have sent to the enemy so the enemy is not coming to us. I have lost all respect for 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley. I''m sure it was calculated not to allow public comment on the millitary storey here. Again, CBS should be ashamed

[scranch18121]

I notice you do not have a way for the public to comment or respond on the story before Dennis Quaid''s ordeal with his children. 60 Minutes should be ashamed at the story "Killings in Haditha". If you need reminding WE ARE AT WAR. We train our young men to go over there and fight for our freedom and when under fire they do what they are trained to do.... you second guess them. This was not a news story with both sides reported on it was a liberal attack on our fine Army, Marines, and other forces we have sent to the enemy so the enemy is not coming to us. I have lost all respect for 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley. I''m sure it was calculated not to allow public comment on the millitary storey here. Again, CBS should be ashamed.

[youngfeller-2009]

I saw your story on the Quaid''s. You missed the real problem behind medication errors. The pharmacys in hospitals are under staffed and over worked. I worker in a hospital that was awarded one of the best one hundred in the country. It was routine, meds were slow to get to the cd unit I was on. Patients suffered because of this. The turn over was significant. There was constant frustration between the nurses and the Pharmacy. Often there was wrong meds or the wrong dose sent to the unit. My understanding from the nurses with years of experience that this was the norm in other hospitals as well. In an effort to save money there seemed to be under staffing. I have no doubt that unless this problem is uncovered and addressed there will continue to be major problem with med errors. Your story on the Quaids pointed out the med problem in hospital but missed a chance to confront the ceo at the hospital in the story and shed light on the real issue. I bet the hospital director was glad no one asked any questions about the pharmacy.

[scranch18121]

I notice you do not have a way for the public to comment or respond on the story before Dennis Quaid''s ordeal with his children. 60 Minutes should be ashamed at the story "Killings in Haditha". If you need reminding WE ARE AT WAR. We train our young men to go over there and fight for our freedom and when under fire they do what they are trained to do.... you second guess them. This was not a news story with both sides reported on it was a liberal attack on our fine Army, Marines, and other forces we have sent to the enemy so the enemy is not coming to us. I have lost all respect for 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley. I''m sure it was calculated not to allow public comment on the millitary storey here. Again, CBS should be ashamed

[loveygrandma]

A month ago today, my husband had double knee replacement. He came through the surgery fine, but during the night he was over-medicated with pain medicine; his blood pressure dropped, his potassium got high and his electrolytes were screwed up. We didn''t find out until 11:00 the next morning and were then told by a doctor that his kidneys were failing! He was transferred to ICU; then because the doctor didn''t feel qualified to handle the kidney failure, he was transferred to another hospital. The surgery took place @ St. Francis Hospital, Mooresville, Indiana; he was transferred to St. Francis Hospital, Beech Grove, Indiana. After a week, he was then transferred to Terre Haute (IN) Regional Hospital for another week which was spent in the Rehab Unit. His 3-day stay turned into over two weeks; he has been ill all this week with stomach problems. The doctors want him to have lab work, and he is too weak to go to the lab! What a nightmare!

Joan

[leered01]

Dennis Quaid should go back to being a pseudo actor and leave the real issues and problems to the real professionals in this world. Half knowledge is dangerous. It was so disappointing to see the one sided interview by CBS. Yes, there are medical mistakes caused by human error- why? BECAUSE WE ARE ALL HUMAN. Doctors are exceptional in their gift in what they do, however, they are still humans. Everyone of us makes a mistake in our careers or lives, but it just so happens that we are not out trying to save people. Take the good with the bad. Don''t bite the hand that feeds you. Our country has become a bunch of lawsuit loving individuals. Doctors, healthcare workers, work endlessly to save lives. And what thanks do we give? To jump at every break in the system. Just like any corporation, nothing, no process is perfect. Why don''t we just run every doctor out of America and then let''s see who will take care of the sick and wounded. What contribution has Dennis Quaid made to our society? Ignorance is bliss for him and his family. How dare you criticize the same people that while make mistakes, save lives more times than not. Go to medical school and then yell at someone for not being a perfect doctor if he is so smart. Or, set up a foundation and whine about something you have no clue or talent about.

[nurseslaven]

I don''t think that it is the manufacturing companies that should be sued, they repackaged the medication and sent letters all over the United states. I think that the error is human. Where I work in Columbus Ohio we have a computer system that you the nurse scans a bar code on the patients scan a bar code on the medication before administering the med;which is a safety feature, With a high alert medication like heparin and Insulin you must have a 2nd Rn cosign in the system to make sure that the dose rout and pt is correct. So tell me in these hospitals that have made fatal errors that no one cosigned or witnessed the wrong dose being given! No one questioned gee that is an a large dose! The fault lies with the Nurse or Nurses that gave that medication.
Thank you
RN in Ohio.

[jdhauser]

I can solve this problem, and the doctors, drug companies, or hospitals can do it.

Paint childrens medicine pink, and only give kids pink medicine.

America is pathetic

[nurseslaven]

I don''t think that it is the manufacturing companies that should be sued, they repackaged the medication and sent letters all over the United states. I think that the error is human. Where I work in Columbus Ohio we have a computer system that you the nurse scans a bar code on the patients scan a bar code on the medication before administering the med;which is a safety feature, With a high alert medication like heparin and Insulin you must have a 2nd Rn cosign in the system to make sure that the dose rout and pt is correct. So tell me in these hospitals that have made fatal errors that no one cosigned or witnessed the wrong dose being given! No one questioned gee that is an a large dose! The fault lies with the Nurse or Nurses that gave that medication.
Thank you
RN in Ohio.

[homer19722]

I feel sorry for Mr. Quaid''s situation, but mistakes happen. I''ve been a nurse for 10 years, and I''m always amazed that people expect perfection to such a degree from doctors and nurses. We are human too! Has Mr. Quaid ever botched a line in a script? He''s a trained actor? Should a producer get to sue an actor for taking too many takes? There are ways to limit mistakes, but they will always happen.

[rephioh]

One thing the report on the Quaid''s experience omitted? How often does this sort of thing happen to our Canadian neighbors? I think it is important in dealing with societal problems to look to other countries to see what they are doing. I''d bet that with Canada''s socialized medicine they are doing far better than we!

[ggrayrn]

One of the main causes of medical mistakes is staffing levels. How many patients are assigned to the RN caring for you or your family member? NIH research shows that mortality increases as the workload of the RN increases.

[moodindigo1]

I really feel sorry for the ordeal that Dennis Quaid and his wife and twins went through and are glad they are fine. My question is what happened to objective journalism that 60 minutes was so good at in years past. Basically, you havean actor who "played the role" of an expert on medical mistakes. How can we believe that he knows there are 100,000 a year (a nice round number), or more deaths from that than car accidents? People go to the hospital because they are sick or dieing and most get a level of care in this country that is second to none. Before 60 minutes goes and defames a great hospital like Cedars, which is why actors donate and go there in the first place, they should present both sides the big picture. That there is a health care shortage, that Baxter''s labeling was the problem (which they mentioned but still found it necessary to grill the C.E.O. why there wasn''t more checks and balances.) I wonder if your reporting was put through the same scrutiny how it would hold up. Why are you not presenting both sides from an expert rather than the complaining party. etc...Lastly, bad things happen to a small percentage of people that go to the hospital but because they are a "star" you knew you would get a big rating. Too bad the 47 million people with no insurance go unheard in are society I am sure they would take their chances at a world class hospital with the best doctors and nurses in the world even if it makes a mistake like all hospitals once in a while.

[moodindigo1]

What happened to Dennis Quaid and his wife and babies was awful. They were lucky that Cedar''s saved them. Cedar''s quietly and without want of publicity saves 100 of thousands of people each year. The staff is dedicated and while there is some instances where mistakes occur they are one of the top ranked hospitals overall in the U.S. 60 mintues used to be known for objective journalism I have never seen a more one sided story in my life. Who was your expert on the subject? I guess it was Dennis Quaid he quoted the statistics. What was it more deaths than traffic accidents? Newflash people go to hospitals when they are really sick so what type of deaths was this "expert" quoting. There is also a huge shortage in healthcare workers I guess that wasn''t as important or relevent to the story. What about the 47 million people that don''t have healthcare in the richest country on earth I bet they would take their chances in Cedar''s. You picked an isolated case solely because it was a "star" to accomplish what? To defame a hospital that has the best doctors and nurses around. Good job 60 minutes you are right up there with entertainment tonight.

[neverclearon]

I agree 100% with "patientsafe." As long as the healthcare industry as a whole is not held accountable (ie in the billfold) this type of negligence on not one but three of the hospitals staff, will continue to rise.
I almost lost my own daughter at 18 months due to a continuing misdiagnoses of her condition (which turned out to be Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.) I heard Chicken Pox, Hand Foot Mouth Virus, etc. I am not an idiot, the symptoms (105 fever that would not break, whole body rash that looked like blood coming to the surface-not pox) did not fit their diagnoses. I carried her into the doctors office when she couldn''t lift her head off the pillow and demanded they re-examine her symptoms and come up with a more viable one because she was getting worse day by day. Finally they "listened" to me and came up with the right diagnoses (later confirmed by test.)
Pay attention, watch every move, question every medication and never leave anyone you care about in a hospital if they aren''t in a condition to watch out for their self because it is all about the money now a days.
I think there should be a limit to the amount of patients doctors see in their office. They just shuffle them in, shuffle them out. There should be standardized costs of procedures. So much more than I can put into this post. Above all, NO ONE is a God, trust your instincts and question everything and anything that doesn''t make sense.

[healthtech1]

There are many more layers to this story than even the Quaids know. What if they knew that Cedars Sinai and almost every other Medical Center/Hospital in the U.S. was aware of a common technology that has been available for almost ten years that prevents nurses from making Medication errors at the bedside.

Positive matching of appropriate meds to the right patient using wireless hand-held bar-code scanning technology is the last and best way to stop medication administration mistakes before they happen. In the case of a 10,000 unit dose of heparin about to be administered to a baby in the NICU, it would have absolutely warned the nurse that they had the wrong drug.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cedars Sinai is and has been aware of this technology and has seen it demonstrated from a variety of manufacturers for the last few years, because I work for one of the those manufacturers. Their response was that they just weren''t interested enough, that it was not a high enough priority for them. We are not talking about a tremendously expensive technology here. One MRI machine costs more than a hospital-wide installation. The biggest issue is that MRI machines make hospitals money. Patient safety technology does not. It only saves lives.