Does an intensivist oversee the intensive care unit?
An intensivist is a physician who specializes in intensive care. Having one overseeing the ICU wins safety points, says Debra Malone, who heads the Colorado chapter of the patient safety group, Persons Limiting Substandards and Errors in Healthcare. Prepare for Your Stay Take these steps before you leave for the hospital, and you’re more likely to spot potential errors before they happen: • Think “advocate.” During your stay, you’ll need to be your own advocate, questioning the care you get. If you won’t be in shape to do this yourself, line up family members or friends who can stay with and do it for you. Here is one family’s story about a hospital mix-up and how they guarded against it happened again: “My child was in three different hospitals: All were very good, and all three made potentially life threatening mistakes when treating her,” says Kevin Roberg, a Minneapolis executive whose late daughter, Kelsey, was diagnosed with kidney cancer at 10 months and spent most of her 6 year
