A new Gallup poll suggests that Tennessee surgical candidates can expect better post-operative recovery and overall outcomes when proper pre-surgical education is given. These results suggest that doctors nationwide could be doing a better job overall of letting patients know what to expect going in, and could also radically affect patients' recovery, health and satisfaction with their care providers. Additionally, patients with higher satisfaction ratings often have fewer post-operative complications.
According to the survey, patient education is often lacking, with costly and sometimes fatal results. Patients who are more satisfied with the level of education they are given about their condition and the procedures necessary to fix it, including surgical aftercare, heal more quickly and fully. Also, the results indicate that patients who are more satisfied with how their treatment is explained beforehand may be less likely to file medical malpractice suits.
The poll data indicates that roughly 37 percent strongly agree with all three tested aspects of patient education, including whether clear expectations were set for the procedure, aftercare and whether the patient followed all instructions. Approximately 17 percent of all patients expressed strong disagreement with all these aspects. These findings suggest that health care providers should be more proactive and take a leadership role in patient education to reduce the likelihood of post-surgical complications.
In cases where adverse reactions occur after a surgical procedure, an attorney might make the level of education a focus. If the patient was not properly advised of what to expect at each stage, this may have a direct bearing on the patient's subsequent harm. The attorney can help to determine whether that constituted medical negligence for the purposes of filing a claim for damages.