We don’t tend to think of ourselves as consumers or customers when we need medical care, as we instead simply think of ourselves as patients. Given that context, many of us will not spend much time ‘shopping’ for the best medical care when we need it, especially when we encounter an urgent medical situation and we need to go to the hospital. Instead, we will just quickly proceed to the nearest hospital and assume that we will be provided with the care that we need. In certain situations, it will seem as though getting to a hospital within a few minutes is more important than spending perhaps 30 minutes getting to one that may be renowned for some reason.
Unfortunately, people who do simply rush to the nearest hospital may be encountering additional degrees of risk and danger that could put them in an extreme amount of harm’s way. That’s because hospitals are different, and some have been found to provide much better care than others. Every step involved with medical care for a very sick or injured person is obviously critically important, and any mistake that’s made could lead to a massive amount of suffering or even to an avoidable loss of human life.
Based on a survey that has been done by a patient advocacy group known as The Leapfrog Group, hospitals in New York are not necessarily safe havens when compared to other states. The survey that the group did, the results of which can be found here, shows that there are 31 states across the country that rank higher than New York in terms of the percentage of hospitals that received an ‘A’ rating from the group. The letter grade earned by each hospital was based on a variety of factors, but only 20 percent of the operating hospitals in New York earned that high mark.
According to the survey, the states with the highest percentage of A-level hospitals included:
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Virginia
- Illinois
- New Jersey
- Michigan
- Colorado
- Montana
- Florida
The states with the lowest percentage of A-rated hospitals included:
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Rhode Island
- Oklahoma
- Idaho
- Nevada
- Kansas
- Oregon
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
Only 7 percent of the hospitals in New Mexico earned an A rating, while 80 percent of the hospitals in Maine earned the highest grade. Overall, hospitals in New York finished closer to the bottom 10 states than the top 10, and this should be cause for concern for people who encounter medical needs.
The best step to take when possible is for someone to make sure to do some research before reporting to a hospital. Another step to take is to hold those responsible for harm inflicted in this setting accountable. If this has happened to you or someone you love, contact the New York medical malpractice lawyers at The Fitzgerald Law Firm today to schedule a free initial consultation.