When We Do Harm A Doctor Confronts Medical Error

Danielle Ofri — 2020

Practicing physician and acclaimed author Danielle Ofri investigates how medical error could be killing 10% of patients and causing 33% of hospital deaths. Although staggering success has been the dominant theme in medicine for centuries, that narrative leaves no space for discussion around the potential adverse outcomes of medical treatment. Through research and interviews with physicians, nurses, administrators, and many patients, Dr. Ofri explores the causes of medical error, and points to the changes needed to reduce risk of negative outcomes--including death. She advocates for changes as small (and proven) as checklists and as large as full-scale culture shifts in the relationship between medical staff and their patients. Woven through the book is the particularly harrowing tale of one patient, Jay, whose experience with a seemingly innocuous mistake likely cost him his life. These stories force us to reconsider what happens when the medical system does us harm.

Reviews

altlovesbooks@altlovesbooks

Jul 5, 2023

I'm fortunate that in my thirtysomething years on this planet I haven't required anything more serious than some antibiotics for strep, and the only time I've gone under the knife was for elective cosmetic surgery. My husband, likewise, is healthy as a horse (knock on all available wood). So I approached this book very much as an outsider with a general interest in, well, generally all things, and the premise sounded interesting. I was extremely surprised at how much I walked away with from this book, even having no ongoing medical conditions myself. The book is structured in such a way that the author's points are mixed in with actual cases and examples emphasizing what she finds important. There's also two larger cases that span a good chunk of the book, one involving a patient named Jay and the other a burn victim named Glenn, that she uses to drive home points all throughout the book. I really liked this approach, and also appreciated the fact that everything was easy to understand and approachable. The premise can be a little scary for some people, that mistakes can happen, but people are people and this is very hard to overcome. The author goes to great lengths explaining all the safeguards and thought processes in place to prevent mistakes from happening, and then also discusses all the ways these can be bypassed in the name of expedited care and overworked staff. The specific mistakes involved in the two larger cases (Jay's and Glenn's) are outlined at the very end of the book, and the author discusses how these mistakes and others can be avoided by the medical industry. Chapter 16 especially was good to read, as the author discusses what a patient can do to protect themselves, and also provides various resources to reach out to if negligent treatment is suspected. All in all I enjoyed this book a ton and walked away with some valuable information that I'll hopefully carry with me as my husband and I get older.