Questions:
1. What were the errors in Alex James’s care? What do you think was ultimately the cause of
his death?
Answer: There was variety of
... [Show More] errors in various fields of the hospital.
• Alex’s lead cardiologist ignored his father’s information about Alex’s low potassium level and
didn’t give him potassium replacement.
• Cardiologist missed a diagnosis of acquired long QT syndrome (treatable heart rhythm
condition)
• The lack of proper discharge instructions. Alex was not aware of his condition and No one warn
him not to run when he had his follow-up visits.
• Various improper cardiac evaluations such as cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology test and
even his cardiac MRI was done incorrectly.
All the errors listed above contributed to Alex’s death but the pathological reason for his death was
due to the misdiagnosis of QT syndrome. The failure to push potassium upraised the heart arrythmias
and after energy consuming activity his heart stopped and he could not be revived.
2. Do you think that the hospital would have known about the errors in Alex’s care if his
father hadn’t investigated what happened? What does this mean for other patients?
Answer:
• No, the hospital would not have investigated about the errors if Alex’s father had not gone into
the details as it will affect hospital’s reputation along with the financial issues. The hospital would
most likely not have wanted to admit to error, resulting in a lack of communication with the
family.
• This means for other patients that they need to be fully informed. They need to know their rights
as a patient. If patients are fully aware of their rights to be involved and informed all of the time
regarding their care, there would be fewer errors ultimately.
3. Diagnostic error is an important but understudied issue in patient safety. How do you think
the problem of diagnostic error compares to other types of error and harm, such as
medication errors?
Answer:
• Diagnostic error is the most problematic error than any medical errors. As soon as patient goes
into any medical institute, the foremost thing is diagnosis and then the further treatment depends
upon it. But the diagnostic error is not talked as much and it is understudied as compared to
other errors. Medication error is most likely due to look-alike medication and it is a human error
whereas misdiagnosis is due to lack of knowledge or precision. [Show Less]