Maintaining high quality health care in Vail

As revealed in a recent survey, Colorado’s healthcare system ranked highly compared to other states, and scored particularly favorably in the outcomes category. This section measures the impact of medical services and interventions on the health of patients, and includes any instances of medical malpractice. As medical systems throughout Colorado perform well, health services in Vail will also be further improved with the opening of a new urgent care facility. Even though the level of care is excellent in the region, there are still opportunities for patients to give feedback on their treatment, and for healthcare providers to keep improving the safety of medical interventions.

Following up on Complaints

To measure outcomes of a healthcare system, statistics such as the number of post-surgery complications are taken into account. Surgical error is just one of the types of medical malpractice that can create unnecessary pain and suffering for patients. If negligence can be proven, patients can get help in making a claim in order to recover compensation for their losses. While medical outcomes are generally good in the region, it is still straightforward for patients in Colorado to make an official complaint about treatment and quality of care that they may have received in any health facility in the state. This can be done anonymously, unless they would like to receive feedback and updates on any investigation undertaken as a result of their complaint.
Improving Accuracy in Surgery

While two hospitals in the area are already rated highly for orthopedic surgery, doctors are still ready to make improvements to their surgical treatments. In the latest U.S. News hospital rankings, Vail Health Hospital scores 5 out of 5 for several procedures including hip and knee replacements. Having consistently provided exceptional care, The Vail-Summit Orthopedics & Neurosurgery department at St Anthony Summit Medical Center is now able to provide more accurate complete knee replacements.  Rather than simply depending on their own medical expertise, surgeons can use real-time data provided by a robotic surgical assistant to help them make clean cuts to the bone and position replacements more precisely. 

Reducing Medication Errors

In the U.S., up to 9,000 people die every year due to an error with their medication. While mistakes can occur throughout the system of medication-use, around 50% of these errors occur at the prescribing stage, and include writing out the wrong drugs, dose or frequency. Problems with prescription are nearly always preventable and the FDA regularly reviews the names, labels and instructions of drugs linked with identified mistakes. As well as taking steps to avoid mistakes with dispensation, in Colorado, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) allows doctors and pharmacists to prevent the misuse and diversion of drugs once they have been prescribed. Prescribes are able to access patient information when giving out controlled substances to ensure they are being used correctly for the benefit of the patient alone. 

While medical care is consistently good in the region, listening to feedback and adapting to new techniques can help healthcare providers correct errors in treatment and improve the safety of procedures.