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by watwut 2164 days ago
That actually is, because the doctors and nurses make more mistakes when they are tired.
2 comments

It that were the case, you would expect the danger to come towards the end of shifts and not from the changeover itself or beginning of new shifts. The problem is the passing of information. Some places operate on a 12 hour schedule and some on an 8 hour schedule. It isn't clear that the 8 hour schedule is actually safer because while workers are less tired, you increasing the number of daily handovers by 50%.
And meanwhile both 12 ams 8 hour schedule places involve people who were at work more then 24 hours or had massive overtimes last weeks.
Yes I'm so sick of the "need to work long hours" bullshit. It's an incoherent argument.

Higher more people, overlap shifts, problem solved.

>Higher more people, overlap shifts, problem solved.

Sure, sometimes the solution is to just throw more money at the problem. However that doesn't mean the money is available to dedicate to that solution.

If the problem is money, they should just say so. The "but the outcomes" talk is still a lie.

Also US healthcare is so grossly inefficient it doesn't make sense to look at one cost center in isolation from a policy perspective, only from a the perspective of private sector actors I think shouldn't exist.

Hiring clinicians is expensive. Healthcare is already 18% of GDP. Where would you propose to get the additional funding?
Are you claiming the work hours of doctors are the expensive thing in all that?