Anesthesia Errors

Medical Professional Anesthesia Errors

Surgical staff, anesthesiologists, and any other medical professional involved in the administration of your anesthesia have a duty to provide a high standard of safe care.

The first step for a safe anesthesia experience is a proper and thorough patient screening. Although anesthesia is generally a safe option for healthy patients, there is key patient information medical staff members need to flag for risk.

Such patient information which increase the risks of anesthesia includes:

• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Medication allergies
• Heart, lung, or kidney problems
• High blood pressure

A patient’s age is also a risk factor. Anesthesia may be risky for elderly patients.

The next step for a safe anesthesia experience is close monitoring. Medical staff must attentively monitor a patient’s vitals while the patient is receiving anesthesia. Any adverse reaction to the medication will likely show in the patient’s vital signs—blood pressure, oxygen levels, and heart rate. Distressed vitals require immediate patient attention.

Lastly, it is critically important an anesthesiologist or any other medical professional involved in your care does not cut corners. With 50 million operations a year, surgeons and anesthesiologist are busy. Furthermore, medical staff members form habits from repetition which may cause them to repeat certain procedures without much thought. Time-saving shortcuts or habitual procedures put anesthesia patients at risk.