Patient Safety and Quality

Patient Safety Starts With You

Partnering for the Safest Care

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Dr. Jonathan Gottlieb’s Bio | Q&A Archive

Note: This is for informational purposes only. Doctors cannot provide a diagnosis or individual treatment advice via e-mail. Please consult your physician about your specific health care concerns.

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We try our best to keep a close watch of our patients so that we are alerted early to any possible problems in their condition. Family members are often the best eyes and ears for the staff. We know your loved one well but you know them best. We respect that there are times you will note changes in your loved one that we may not have noticed. If you have particular concerns that your loved one’s condition is taking a turn for the worse, be sure to ask the nurse taking care of him or her to start the rapid response process.

What is Rapid Response?

Rapid Response is a way to receive immediate help from a doctor for a sudden and worrisome change in your loved one’s condition.

When you request the patient’s nurse to start the rapid response process, he or she will assess the patient right away and contact the doctor to come to the unit if needed.

If called by the nurse, the doctor will come right away to assess the problem and begin the necessary treatment.

Preparing for Surgery:

If you are having surgery, there are steps you can take to ensure you receive the safest care. Here are some tips:

Be sure to read the consent form before you sign it to make sure that all written information is correct.
On the day of surgery, tell the doctor and nurse your name, date of birth and what part of your body is being operated on.
If your surgery is going to be on your spine or the left or right side of your body, expect that our staff will confirm the location with you and will mark that side with a checkmark. Examples of this include: your left arm, right knee or right side of your head. If your procedure is on your left lung and cannot be physically marked, staff will mark the side on a drawing of the human body on your chart.

Speak up if you believe the staff has any information that is wrong or not completely correct. We want to make sure that your surgery or procedure goes exactly as planned.

This page was last updated on: August 18, 2010.