Double-booking: A troubling trend in surgical procedures

When you are undergoing a surgical procedure, chances are that the procedure is your primary focus. You can be consumed preparing for the operation, educating yourself about what will happen and planning for the recovery process.

Considering how important these operations are for every patient, it can be quite upsetting to learn that you are not a doctor’s only priority. Even during your operation.

Divided and doubled work

A troubling trend referred to as “running two rooms” or “double booking” is sadly not uncommon in teaching hospitals in New York and across the country. As reported in The Washington Post, the practice involves assigning an attending surgeon to two operations simultaneously.

When a surgeon is running two rooms, he or she is moving between two operating rooms. While this person is tasked with performing the most critical elements of a procedure, he or she delegates other steps to trainees.

Problems that arise

Numerous problems can arise from situations involving concurrent surgeries.

Your surgeon may not even be in the room for the entirety of an operation, which can be incredibly upsetting for victims who put their lives in that person’s hands. When he or she is present, there is the possibility that he or she is distracted by the procedure going on in the other room.

There is also the potential for confusion to lead to surgical errors or wrong procedures if a surgeon mixes up which patient is which.

What you can do to protect yourself

In order to avoid some of the complications that can stem from this practice, you as a patient can take action. Before a surgery, talk to your doctors and make sure you understand if he or she is going to be present for the entirety of an operation, or if others will step in at some point.

If you have already gone through a concurrent operation that resulted in negative results, it may be a good idea to discuss your case with an attorney. With legal guidance, you can learn more about your rights to pursue compensation and the steps you need to take to file a medical malpractice or negligence claim.