In the vast majority of hospitals, nurses are required to check on patients at least once an hour. This practice, called hourly rounding, is designed to reduce the number of patient falls and pressure ulcers, which happen when bedridden people don’t move enough. But there’s no way to know whether nurses are checking every hour–or even at all. Patient neglect is a nationwide problem. According to a 2016 study, medical errors–which include lapses in caregiving that lead to falls and injuries–are the third leading cause of death in the country, causing more than 250,000 deaths per year. “In nursing homes and hospitals, we hear horror stories about neglect,” says Michael Wang, an entrepreneur and registered nurse who worked in the cardiothoracic wing of New York Presbyterian Hospital. “Patients become injured or they die for the very simple fact that no one checked on them.” read more>>
