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Certain risk factors drastically increase the likelihood of a collision. Exceeding the speed limit, paying attention to something other than the road, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and driving while exhausted are all major risk factors that can increase the potential for a crash.

If you have ever had to drive after an exceptionally long day at work or a very bad night of sleep, you probably understand how exhaustion can make driving much more difficult. It is harder to remain focused when you are tired, and your reaction time can become substantially longer when your brain needs rest. Unfortunately, not everyone can stay off the road when they're tired.

If you have ever had or might ever need to have an operation, it is important that you feel confident in the ability of your surgeon and the other surgical staff. Many people in New Jersey and around the nation are in this situation every single day. In most cases, the confidence people put in their medical professionals may be warranted. However, there are times when that confidence is broken due to an unnecessary medical error.

Becker's Hospital Review published a summary of some research that reviewed the factors involved in a set of adverse events associated with surgical procedures. The results were recently published in JAMA Open Network. Out of more than 5,300 surgeries included in the study, adverse events resulted in 188. Of those, human mistakes were found to be factors in 106. That means that more than half of the serious complications or even patient deaths were due to errors by doctors or other members of the surgical teams.

Awareness of the dangers of both drunk driving and cell phone use while driving has increased greatly in recent years, so much so that many in Clinton may be more cognizant of avoiding such practices. Yet there exists another form of dangerous driving behavior that does not get nearly as much exposure: eating and drinking while driving. Indeed, information shared by Exxon Mobil shows that as many as 70 percent of drivers admit to eating while behind the wheel, while 83 percent say that have consumed beverages while driving.

Eating and drinking seem to many to be such natural actions that most might not even view them as being distracting. This is no doubt the reason why so many do it while driving (one might even that automakers encourage it by incorporating cup holders in vehicle designs). Yet both actions require that drivers take their eyes and attention off the road, and at least one of their hands off the steering wheel. Some might argue that even if eating and drinking are distracting, they only require a moment or two of one’s attention. When one is traveling down the road in a vehicle at high speeds, a moment of distraction can easily put one in a dangerous position that can lead to a car accident.

Like many in Clinton, you may wonder how it is that your doctor is able to come up with a definitive diagnosis based off what may seem (to you) to be relatively little information. The answer may both surprise and alarm you. While the unique education and experience that each physician acquires during the course of their career no doubt influences their practice, a good portion of their decision making is driven by heuristics. 

What are heuristics? They are the standard practices of a profession (think of them as "rules of thumb'). Typically, heuristics are developed through practice and by the technology available to practitioners. They become the baselines on which treatment plans are built, as clinicians compare clinical indicators to what the accepted practices are for providing care. In healthcare, you may often hear heuristics referred to as "the standard of care."