For many Pennsylvania residents who reside in a nursing home, the trips to and from the hospital can result in medical errors and poor followup. It is estimated that these errors cause serious harm to one in four nursing home residents. According to research from an Indiana University study, having nurse practitioners can significantly improve the transfer process to reduce the number of errors.
Nurses may help prevent hospital transfer errors
Diagnostic accuracy of doctors vs. symptom checkers
Pennsylvania residents sometimes use online symptoms checkers to try to self-diagnose themselves when they are experiencing health problems. A study reports that doctors are more accurate than online symptom checkers are, but they still make diagnostic errors in around 15 percent of cases involving common conditions.
