Evidence based research in healthcare

According to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins Medicine, a lot of errors occur in the medical field in the United States thus making it the third leading cause of death. The reason for choosing this article is due to the fact that, even though such errors lead to massive loss of life, they are errors that can be rectified if given proper attention through awareness and in doing so, save lives. According to Hagland (2016), these deaths are caused by errors that occur in the medical field such as complications during surgery that are not identified, giving of wrong medical dosages and giving wrong medication to patients to mention a few. As a result of these mistakes, thousands of lives are lost and they are third in the list of causes of death in America after heart diseases and cancer (Hagland, 2016).

            Evidence based researched and practices in healthcare institutions ensure that clinicians combine their expertise with the best possible evidence of a patient’s condition and values when they make health related decisions (Hagland, 2016). Through it, clinicians have vital information concerning a patient before the commence giving care and thus helps them to make informed and accurate decisions. Evidence based research can therefore assist in reducing the number of deaths caused by medical errors since the clinicians will be more informed on the medical status of the patient. According to Hagland (2016), over 250, 000 American citizens die as a result of medical errors every year. These errors may be caused by various factors, some of which could have been avoided if the medical practitioners had ample information before deciding on how to treat patients. Having a clinical decision support in healthcare facilities will equip clinicians with the information they need to offer proper care to their patients. Such information is beneficial to those in the nursing practice because it would help them to relate well with their patients and offer better quality health care and save lives.

Reference

Hagland M, (2016) “John Hopkins research finds medical errors third leading cause of death in    U.S” Healthcare Informatics Retrieved from, http://www.healthcare-      informatics.com/news-item/johns-hopkins-research-finds-medical-errors-third-leading-             cause-death-us-author-asks-cdc