Patient Safety and the USA Healthcare System Essay

Patient Safety and the USA Healthcare System - Essay Example USA healthcare system has not been efficient in handling the safety of patients. This is because it has encountered various challenges identified by experts. One of the challenges is wrong-site surgery. This occurs when an operation is done on the wrong part of the body. Even though it is rare and preventable it still occurs in the current hospitals. It is apparent that from the year 1995 to 2010 about 956 wrong-site incidents were reported to the Joint Commission. A medication error is another challenge evident in the America health care system. It is apparent when the patients receive the wrong medication or when the wrong dosage is given to a patient. A report by the Institute of Medication in 2006 showed that estimates of 1.5 million Americans each year are harmed by medical errors. This has resulted in an extra medical cost of $3.5 billion (Pauley & Joseph, 2012).Health care-acquired infection is another challenge that the America health care is facing though at a minimal level. The challenge occurs when a person gets an infection while being treated. It is apparent that 1 out of 20 patients hospitalized in United States contract health care acquire infections. At the end, the patient spends more time in the hospital and takes longer recovery time. Falls are other causes of injuries in the health care settings and the outside environment. Research has shown that about 500,000 falls happen each year in Americans hospitals resulting to 150,000 injuries (Savage & Ford, 2008).

Gastrointestinal Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gastrointestinal Disorders - Essay Example Functional gastrointestinal diseases are associated with a plethora of symptoms which present biochemical and structural abnormality which is unidentifiable (Chang, Locke, McNally, Halder, Schleck, Zinsmeister, & Talley, 2010). Ageing itself is associated with numerous functional changes in the gastrointestinal tracts; such changes involve motility, intraluminal digestion, secretion and absorbtion (Grassi, Petraccia, Mennuni, Fontanna, Scarno, Sabetta, & Fraioli, 2011). Oropharyngeal muscle dismotility has a high preveilance among the elderly patients. Another functional disorder that is present in elderly patients is gastroesophagal reflux, which occurs as a result of reduced esophagal peristalsis and pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter (Park, 2011). Gastric emptying and motility has been found to be normal with ageing, however, some studies have shown that in some instances it may slow down. Structural neurological and endocrine changes lead to disturbed functioning in parts of the G.I tract. These include the propulsive motility of the colon, which is decreased due to these changes. A decrease in gastric secretions also causes gastric ulcers as the structure of the mucous bicarbonate barrier is also impaired (Park, 2011). Other functions that also decrease with age include pancreatic secretion and the level of bile salts. The above mentioned structural and functional changes along with other factors are part of the mechanisms that result in gastrointestinal diseases such as gastroesophagal reflux disease, dysphagia, primary dyspepsia, primary constipation, bowel syndrome, and a reduced level of nutrient absorption (Grassi, Petraccia, Mennuni, Fontanna, Scarno, Sabetta, & Fraioli, 2011). Evaluation of elderly patients is a complex process and may require more than one session (The Merck Manual, n.d.). The patients often become fatigued and the examination will have to be conducted at a later stage. The evaluation of elderly patients has also been assoc iated with underreporting and typical manifestations for certain disorders maybe absent (The Merck Manual, n.d.). Elderly patients often have several different problems with their health hence it is difficult to analyze the system that is affected and whether or not the pathology is a result of malfunctioning of other organs. Concomitant disorders can affect the results obtained from the diagnostic test and may show pathological signs from another system, which can be mistaken for another disease (Shamburek & Farrar, 1990). Therapeutic response by elderly patients is usually very slow as organism is undergoing physiological degradation. Drugs which are administered to elderly patients should present minimal adverse effects to other organs such as the liver as the damage from these drugs may be more severe (The Merck Manual,