Post by AnimalAvenger on Feb 10, 2010 13:28:42 GMT -5
If any of these mistakes had occurred in human patients, they’d be classified as medical errors worthy of investigation, public reporting and professional discipline, including dismissal.
Wrong-site surgery and medication overdoses, for instance, are among the so-called “never events” regarded as inexcusable in a human health care setting.
But because the errors occurred in animals, owners and advocates say they were ignored, minimized or outright denied by a system that devalues the bond between pets and their owners and fails to hold veterinarians sufficiently accountable when they make mistakes.
‘Woefully inadequate’
“When someone’s companion animal is injured by a veterinarian, their choices are between slim and none,” said Joyce Tischler, founder and general counselor for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a Cotati, Calif., group that fields several calls a month about pet medical errors.
“Action against veterinarians is woefully inadequate,” she added.
Wrong-site surgery and medication overdoses, for instance, are among the so-called “never events” regarded as inexcusable in a human health care setting.
But because the errors occurred in animals, owners and advocates say they were ignored, minimized or outright denied by a system that devalues the bond between pets and their owners and fails to hold veterinarians sufficiently accountable when they make mistakes.
‘Woefully inadequate’
“When someone’s companion animal is injured by a veterinarian, their choices are between slim and none,” said Joyce Tischler, founder and general counselor for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a Cotati, Calif., group that fields several calls a month about pet medical errors.
“Action against veterinarians is woefully inadequate,” she added.
MORE:
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35286379/ns/health-pet_health/?gt1=43001
