Tips From a Surgeon: What Every Patient Should Know

April 6, 2007 — -- Close to 100,000 Americans die every year from medical errors. Hospital infections are among the Top 10 leading causes of death in the United States, but patients can take steps to ensure their safety in the operating room, and hospitals are working to protect their health.

On "Good Morning America," surgeon and author Atul Gawande explained how the lessons he'd learned in the hospital could save patients' lives.

In his new book, "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance," Gawande stresses that diligence and mundane attention to detail have made all the difference in health care.

"A man I describe early in the book who I was able to save from life-threatening bleeding, only to almost lose him from an infection, an infection he got in the hospital because someone -- and this could have been me -- didn't wash their hands," he said. "Hand washing is utterly mundane, but [it's] one of the critical 1,000 steps that must be taken."

Gawande said that in his hospital, there were now alcohol-gel dispensers at every door. Nasal swab cultures are taken from every patient who comes into the hospital to make sure they aren't carrying resistant germs. Yellow placards on hospital doors help signify when visitors and patients should watch out for bacteria.

"These 8.5-by-11 cards -- and they might be orange in some hospitals -- signal, 'This is a patient with an antibiotic-resistant infection.' And these types of infection can travel on a floor," he said. "Now that doesn't mean all patients need to be scared when they see a yellow card. Hospitals isolate those patients to control the spread of infection, and take precautions like hand washing, gowns and gloves."

A simple practice can protect patients and family members from picking up bacteria: hand washing. But cleanliness isn't the only area where people need to be diligent. Patients often don't realize how much they need to pay attention to their medications.