Double-booked surgeries: Are doctors overlooking patient safety?
A recently published study showed that hip surgery patients were about twice as likely to suffer complications when their surgeon was overseeing concurrent operations, compared to patients whose surgeons were not double-booked.
The Canadian study examined over 90,000 operations at 75 hospitals in Ontario, and found that the longer the duration of simultaneous surgeries the more likely patients were to suffer complications within a year, such as infections and follow-up surgeries.
In his latest Just Transparency post, Jeffrey Catalano writes that this study – the broadest to date of the risks associated with simultaneous surgeries – is a significant counter to previous peer-review studies in the U.S. finding no significant difference in complications from concurrent procedures.
At a minimum, doctors must inform patients before a surgery that they intend to overlap surgeries, Mr. Catalano writes.
Mr. Catalano, a partner at the firm, represents victims of catastrophic injuries, including those resulting from medical negligence. He is the immediate Past President of the Massachusetts Bar Association.