Life Insurance Quotes

Inappropriate care for ICU patients may be common

12/29/11

A recent European poll showed that one-third of doctors working in intensive care units believe one or more of their patients is receiving too much and inappropriate care.

Many ICU staff members felt they were giving too much medical care to their patients, but the study doesn't reveal why this is occurring.

More than 1,600 doctors and nurses at hospitals in Europe and Israel were polled for the study, and were asked questions about their work experiences and if their patients had received inappropriate care in the past 24 hours. A quarter of the nurses said they delivered inappropriate care to patients and 32 percent of the doctors thought they had provided inappropriate care. Some of this inappropriate care would fall under the category of providing too much care for patients facing end-of-life medical circumstances.

"Integrating the perspectives of nurses and the physicians may lead not only to greater mutual understanding with fewer conflicts, but also to better end-of-life decision making and care for the patients and their families," researcher Dr. Ruth Piers and her colleagues agreed.

According to the researchers, the nurses and doctors who felt as if they gave inappropriate care to patients were also more likely to be thinking about leaving their jobs.

Considering the uncertainty of doctors regarding quality of ICU care, individuals without life insurance might look into securing a plan that will ensure a financially stable future for their dependents and other beneficiaries.

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