Case Analysis
Patients visit hospitals at a time when they are at the greatest need for their health and well being. The health care practitioners are required to respond to these needs in a caring and professionals way. However, it is unfortunate, that instances where by this is not the case in that the reasons are not relates to human error or system deficiencies. The medical practices lead to fatal and harmful consequences to the patients. For the case study entitled, “Medication administration error and failure to monitor” examines a case where by claims of medical malpractice is asserted against the intensive care unit nurses.
The nurse was dealing with a 23 year old woman who was suffering from the general body ache and her fever. After taking some self administered over the counter medication, the patient’s condition became worse, and she subsequently developed cough and had shortness of breath. She is admitted to the emergency care unit. the chest scan indicated that she suffered from right upper lobe collapse and a high number of white blood cells count of 19, 5000. She also suffered from abnormal function test of the liver. With these results, the patient was first started with antibiotic and oxygen drawn therapy. The attending physician examined her progress to the therapy as being stable and recommended being added 30mq of potassium in that the patient be induced 80ml per hour(NSO & CAN 2010)..
The actual medical malpractices is mainly attributed to the intensive care unit nurses who failed to provide the physician with information concerning the heart rate of the patient that was constantly rising. She did not adhere to the instructions given by the physician to provide the right potassium dosage at the right rate to the patient. The kind of negligence seen in the intensive care unit nurse constitute to crime as per the procedure of the law. Crime results from when a person knowingly neglects the available protocols within the health care system. The intensive care nurses failure to administer the current dose and incorrect drug.
The nurse did not adhere to the hospital protocols of informing the physician of the time of discharging the patient, how the patient responded to the provided treatment and the transportation equipment of the patient. The nurses also got involved in the intensive care unit activities yet; she believed that she did not have enough experiences in working in an intensive care unit. Her negligence contributed to fatal consequences to the 23 year old patients who went into cardiac arrest and died (NSO & CAN 2010).
The nature, sources, and functions of the law
As a hospital staff, the intensive care unit is required to follow the applicable standards of care within her profession. Failure to do so make the hospital is reliable to the consequential errors. Monitoring the patient is an important aspect for all nurses especially to patients in the intensive care unit who have been diagnosed as being in an unstable state and their health is rapidly deteriorating. Any form of health condition changes on the patient has to be communicated and detected. Failure to communicate these significant changes posses a major risk to the life of the patient in which the hospital will also be held responsible. Hospital labiality can also result from the failure to communicate on the diagnostic testing reports because it leads to a case where by the doctors misdiagnose the condition of the patient.
Health care laws comprises of contracts, antitrust, torts, and insurance, medical malpractice is the main issue in this case where by the intensive care unit lacks sufficient skills to work in the ICU, to properly monitor and report on significant changes as well as provision of wrong medication. The victim‘s filmily is entitled to seek compensation due to the nurse’s negligence actions. This is a case where the nurse beaches the nurse- patient relationship and violates the set medical care standards that are universally acceptable in the care and treatment of patient (Pandit M & Pandit S 2009).
Violation of patient rights according to the Patients Bill of Rights gives power to patients to sue HMOs in cases where their health is put to risk or under damages resulting from improper provision of treatment and delays (Hurney, 2003). Failure of health care professionals and the whole to discharge their function as expected results to tortuous liability. The tort means a civil wrong based on the contractual obligation. Any form of breached as for this case that attracts judicial interventions leads to serious damages to the hospital and individual heath care practitioners causing the damage. The claim against the nurse actions was settled among the defendants at $ 1.4 million. Patients have the right to receive the proper attention from nurses and doctors as part of their civil right.
Reference
NSO and CAN (2010) Case study: Medication administration error and failure to monitor PDF
Pandit M & Pandit S (2009) Medical negligence, Coverage of the profession, duties, ethics, case law, and enlightened defense on medical perspective. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2779963/
On July 20, 2012
Hurney, T Jr. (2003) Medical Professional Liability in West Virginia. West Virginia Law Review 369.
