need to add title here

The Wrong Medicine

August 24, 2008 8:01 PM

Dennis Quaid's newborn twins nearly died when they were mistakenly given a drug overdose. The actor and his wife share their story to draw attention to hospital mistakes that kill as many as 100,000 Americans a year. Steve Kroft reports.

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by NursePaige September 9, 2009 7:36 PM EDT
My heart truly goes out to the Quaids and anyone who has ever been a victim of this problem. This is a horrible story and what's worst is the frequency at which incidents like this happen. First of all I have to agree with SOUTHERNDOC, when he said that we are all human, we all make mistakes, and that as health care providers we are here to help you and not cause harm. However, regardless of the number of nurses, or lack thereof, that should not be an excuse! We all knew when we decided to become nurses that we would have a lot of responsibility. The last time I checked giving medications was ultimately our responsibility! The first thing you learn in nursing school is medication administration safety. Also regardless of how much two drugs may look alike as a nurse it is your job to know the difference. You can't tell me that this nurse was "so busy" that in the process of giving this medication that she couldn't take 2 seconds to read the label!! As a nurse myself this greatly disturbs me, that this could have been prevented and wasn't.
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by medmalx2 August 27, 2008 5:45 AM EDT
To the SOUTHERN DOC: Perhaps you do not recognize the High Esteem the general public holds for doctors & consequently we the public are shocked when you make a mistake; however MISTAKES are made but how they are handled makes a difference.
At my place of work if my product fails to perform people and propery are subject to a great deal of harm, consequently when my bussiness is made aware of an error etc we FIX IT AND PAY for any damage.
However in California the situtation is different, first thing the Doctors & Hospitals do is hire lawyers to act as their surrogates to DEAL with the INJURED PATIENTS,they permit their representatives to strip the patients more while all the while heibernating in a state of denial.
THATS THE DIFFERENCE! Criminals you are not,but you are certaintly well compensated
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by southerndoc August 26, 2008 6:33 AM EDT
Hold us accountable so that we face criminal charges for honest mistakes? That''s ridiculous.

People seem to forget that we are there to help people, and unfortunately, we are not Gods. Physicians and nurses make mistakes, and even though we double (and even triple) check things to help prevent errors, the fact of the matter is that we are human and we make mistakes.

If you do not think you ever make mistakes, then I highly encourage you to go into medicine so you can help us prevent these kind of errors.

With the era of HMO''s, we have now faced severe shortages and cutbacks of staff. One nurse taking care of 11 patients is dangerous and unsafe, but it is the norm now. Nobody wants to pay the money that''s necessary to increase staffing. If you think socialized medicine will increase staffing, then I''ve got news for you. The main reason we have this mess is because of Medicare, our country''s "semi-socialist" medical system that leads the way for HMO''s to follow with lower reimbursements and increasing demands on providers.

Please accept my apologies if you have ever been injured by a physician, nurse, or other healthcare worker. I hope that you will start believing that we are there to help people. I never try to intentionally harm anyone, and it bothers me a lot when I do.
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by tazmo6 August 25, 2008 8:06 PM EDT
People who molest children can be posted and shown where they live. Why can''t we post the amount of people killed by hospitals. They''re just as bad if not worse. We actually give ourselves to the Hospital thinking they are safe. When in essence they''re just like the child molestors.

Why can''t they be held accountable for their acts. And don''t tell me that it''s not proven yet that the hospital was at fault. Well the molestor isn''t found guilty until a trial, yet its put in the paper that he''s in jail because of molestation. So the same for the Hospitals. Assume guilty until proven innocent. The person they killed is still going to be dead.

The brain dead representative for the Baxter Company supplying the medications should be in a padded cell for her comments. Ever try reading a label on some of the medications. When I was 18 and perfect eyesight I couldn''t read these labels. If they''re ashamed of their product don''t sell it. Once again stupidity rears its ugly head.


Doctors protecting each other, protecting the nurses, and the hospitals protecting all of them???

Ever hear of accessory to the crime??? The whole bunch should be tried not only for Murder, but for breathing good Air, and impersonating humans.

If I were them I''d take up a new trade, like knitting, or sewing, something where if they make a mistake they''d only hurt themselves, not innocent people or little babies.

Roland A. Burke Jr.
















Roland A. Burke Jr.
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by carmard August 25, 2008 6:41 PM EDT
My sympathies to the Quaids and all parents, family, and friends of patients who are given the wrong medications. Mr. Quaid''s frustration over the statistics, 100,000 unneccessary deaths per year, is quite understandable; however, he compares accidental deaths with mortality statistics for breast cancer. Breast cancer does not have a cure. Accidents can be prevented. Breast cancer survivors are never truly free of the fear of reccurence. The Quaids have experienced a horribly, frightening yet preventable human error. As America attempts to solve our health care problems, let''s not play one disease against another.
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by medmalx2 August 25, 2008 4:35 AM EDT
Hospitals in Calif. fined for SHODDY MEDICAL CARE; check out HOAG MEMORIAL,New Port Beach:allowed foreign objects to remain in surgical patient; Dr Freidman & Hospital hire the legal team & they rip into patient worst than the surgery that cost him his kidney. We WARNED THEM TWO YEARS AGO to change their policy or REPEAT THE ERRORS, It was like talking to the THREE MONKEYS!They didn''t see it,hear it or speak about it. BUT THEY DID REPEAT THE ERROR AND MORE THAN LIKELY WILL CONTINUE BECAUSE WE ALLOW THEM TOO!
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by kcurna August 25, 2008 2:49 AM EDT
Medications are potentially as deadly as the weapons used by our Marines. How ironic both stories aired on the same night. The United States expects to be short 1 million Nurses by 2020. Which would indicate we have an even bigger problem on our hands. The reasons documented for this soon to be National Crisis are not what makes the ''job'' so difficult. Swift legislative action will not alter this course because no one is acknowledging the dissatisfaction of those on the frontline. The focus needs to be on those leaving the profession and the reasons there in. Administration serves those that have the power to Accreditate. National Safety Patient Standards creates documentation of care and leaves no time for the patient. We need someone to report the untold story of what the day and life of a Nurse looks like. I wrote a book "A Good Day in Hell. The Flatlining of Nurses Across America." which begins to unveil the daily struggle of every Nurse in America.
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by rodney6060 August 25, 2008 12:26 AM EDT
I was watching 60 minutes and about the wrong medication. It reminds me of my own wrong medication I was given, not in one operation, but in 4 operations, the last one the anesthesiologist that was not suppose to be around me, gave me medication I was allergic to. He killed me, I was pronounced dead and it took them 4 hours to get my heart started. I was put in ICU for 3 days on life support. I can''t get a soul to help me out at all. If you want a good story, come and get my story, you will be shocked!
Thank You
Rodney Lubiani
2024 Jefferson St
Duluth mn 55812-2110
(218)724-7785
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