How do you solve improper care at hospitals?

Answer 1

The best place to start is your state medical board, which you should be able to find by entering the name of your state followed by the words "medical board" into a search engine. For instance, for Arizona, where I reside, I Googled Arizona State Medical Board, which immediately came up with a web site (azmd.gov). At the very least, contacting the state medical board should put you in touch with the correct entity to report such discrepancies to, i.e. the state attorney general's office, etc.*

*Since the original question posted was not specific, I opted for an "after the fact answer". Having had several surgeries over the past few years, though, I should mention that there are a few things you can do proactively while you're receiving services:

MRSA is a horrible infection that is often contracted at hospitals, so make sure staff is taking the necessary precautions by washing their hands before touching you. They shouldn't be offended if you make this request - it's part of their job to ensure as sterile an environment as possible for you.

If you're having surgery, ask that the location of your surgery is clearly marked prior to surgery - i.e., if you're having surgery on your left shoulder, an "x" or other notation will be marked on that location. You'd be surprised how many surgeries are botched because the wrong part of the body is operated on (i.e.. the right shoulder is operated on instead of the left).