This could be anyone’s biggest nightmare. This happened a number of years ago before electronic medical records were coming of age, but rather were in the infancy stage. It does show how vital records can be in an emergency situation. Recently there were a couple other stories like this in the news, the woman in New York and the model in Brazil who didn’t make it. (related reading). 
One of the best posts I have had on this blog is how Vanderbilt University used Silverlight and Server 2008 to create software they make available for all to alert clinical staff for the onset of Sepsis, which kills thousands every year. This just goes to show too how important a simple and easy to read interface is with visuals.
Also Vanderbilt Medical Center created a Microsoft technology solution to quickly identify Sepsis and you 
can read more here, which entails a solution with Server 2008, SQL server and the use of Silverlight to give clinicians a clear and active visual to detect immediately before the condition would progress any further without immediate attention.
Healthcare jumping out with Server 2008 and all the updated components for the application to track Sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response to infection which can progress to circulatory system dysfunction, multiple organ failure, and eventually death.
It was a shame that perhaps Sepsis was not identified sooner with her case, and there were no medical records to review, perhaps both could have helped to create a different outcome, but in today’s world we have such technology available where as in 2004 this was not as much of an option. Get a personal health record started soon. BD
When Lisa Strong, now 45, went to the emergency room in the early morning hours with back pain from a kidney stone she hardly imagined that she'd leave four months later as a quadruple amputee.
"I was on a respirator in the ICU and I don't remember the first 10 days," said Strong, of Davie, Fla. Her then-husband and two young children had waited anxiously for a diagnosis or any good news as Strong battled septic shock, lived through surgery and then survived multiple heart attacks.
She got a diagnosis, "but at that point they didn't know I would be losing my hands and feet," said Strong.
Over the next month Strong watched the black "line of demarcation" as doctors called it inch up her fingers and toes signaling just how much of her limbs she would lose.
"My hands were black, it was as if I stuck them in a fire. The line moved very slowly, and it was very painful burning," said Strong. "I thought if I exercised a lot I could get life back into my limbs."
Whatever was said, even more confusion ensued after the doctors hung up the phone -- each ended their shifts with no new doctor taking charge.
Green wrote "that no doctor was administering care to plaintiff because Dr. Kocik had gone off shift and left the hospital: Dr. Strong never came to the hospital; and Dr. Sharma arrived about three to four hours late for the start of her shift."
Unfortunately, Savard said most people don't have cradle-to-grave medical records, or any medical records that would be readily accessible to the emergency room staff. Savard said calling your family doctor and trying to involve him or her is a good first step in getting the right diagnosis. An alternative would be to bring a copy of some medical records with you.
Legal Battle Ensues Over Kidney Stone Amputations - ABC News
Related Reading:
Wow. That is really shocking, and really puts a face on the need for patient health records. No malpractice award could ever be high enough to make up for four missing limbs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that - I'm going to go make all my friends and family sign up for HealthVault now...