Patients who undergo health treatment and surgical procedures do assume some risk. Doctors must act within a certain standard of care but even with this standard in place, there is always room for the unexpected. Patients understand this risk but proceed with treatment anyway because they trust their health care professionals to provide the best care possible.
Patients in New York can go one step further now to determine whether the doctor, or hospital, they use is the best choice. In this electronic day and age, patients have troves of information available at their fingertips on the Internet. By checking up on the health care facility and health care professional beforehand, a patient may be able to avoid an unfortunate incident and the need for a New York Surgical Error Attorney.
Included in the information that can be accessed online are hospital emergency room wait times. Patients can also view the track records of nursing homes and hospitals. They can view doctor history too, including whether their physician have ever been sued for malpractice or been subject to disciplinary action. It is also possible to see whether or not a doctor receives money from a pharmaceutical company to push a certain product or drug.
Comparison sites, in particular, are becoming more and more popular. Patients can take a side-by-side look at their options and decide where to receive treatment based on the records and reviews.
Another bonus of comparison sites is that they show which locations offer certain services like flu shots and which pharmacies have the lowest prices for medications.
If a website shows that a certain doctors has been previously sued for malpractice, like surgeon error, then patients can use that information to choose whether or not to use that surgeon. The ability to access this data online adds a whole new meaning to the term “informed consent” and will hopefully improve patient care as well. If doctors and facilities know that patients can track their records, then perhaps they will step up their game and standard of care.
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New York patients can now track doctor history online
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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