it a novel, a fictional version. the book is called "monday mornings." i put my character will no doctor wants to be, confronting mistakes. the mistakes are often avoidable. that's what i want to talk about today. joining me, my colleague elizabeth cohen. you have been talking about these issues. "the empowered patient" i red it, it was terrific. >> mistakes that happened in my family, myself and my children. nobody talks about this. i wanted to talk about people to find out what their experiences are. ift's one of the reasons your book resinated with me so much. these mistakes really do happen. by writing about it so beautifully and openly, i think you are going to help people confront what's happened. when it happens as a patient, you feel terrible and no one talks to you about it. >> i don't know if you knew about these, you probably did. i read about what happened with your family. there was probably a version of that, a gathering of doctors. not lawyers or administrators but they talk about what happened in the spirit of not letting it happen again and not letting it happen to other doctors in the room as well. >> patients don't know that. something bad happens and i have spoken to hundreds of people across the country, bad things happen and you don't know what the follow up is. i was reading your book and i'm like oh, oh, this is what happened. they sit around and talk about this. i knew about them, but not the nature of the meetings. this is the first time i have seen an account of it. you have pull ed back the curtain. i think it was brave of you to show what really happens. i wonder, the mistakes that were made in the book, are they mistakes you have seen over the years? >> yeah, a lot of them. some of them were thing that is were frankly in the press. people who had the wrong side of the body operated on. you and i reported on stories like that. i sort of told the story from the hospitals and doctors perspective as well. you saw it. you saw what a meeting might look like after a mistake like that occurs. it can be tough inside those meetings. people really can be defensive, use black humor to try to place blame somewhere else. i wanted to give people a sense. simple things happen as a result of that. it's unlikely that doctor will operate on the wrong side again. the other doctors realize strategies to keep it from happening. >> these meetings are great and seem to help doctors. but you do wonder, what next steps need to happen so everybody can learn. if one person makes a mistake, everybody, not just that one set of doctors should learn from it. >> they should get that information quickly oz opposed to a year or two later. let's bring in dr. peter. he's a great guy to talk about solutions. he's director of the research group at john hopkins university. welcome, doctor. good to have you on the show. >> thanks for having me. great book, i loved it. >> thank you. can you help set up how big a problem medical mistakes are in the first place? we hear a lot of numbers. up to 250,000 now. how big of a problem is this? >> you are right, sanjay. one of the concerning things is we don't know how big of a problem it is. it's a travesty. 100,000 people die from infections we give them. 100,000 people die from blood clots. tens of thousands die from not getting the recommended therapy. add it all up and you have probably the third leading cause of death. >> it's interesting. one thing with the book, i did not want to make it a hospital populated by super heroes in scrubs. i wanted to talk about things that work to some extent. in the operating room where i work, you may know there, this, but there's a time-out that occurs before and after the operation. let's look at what it looks like. we are about to do a time-out. it's a new safety protocol. carolyn is going to make sure everything we are about to do is the right thing on the right patient. time-out. has ant biotics been given? four units of flood in the room. everything is here, everybody agree? >> yes. >> thank you. >> elizabeth brought up an interesting point. you see something like that. first of all, does it help? it seems like it would help. does it reduce mistakes? >> they do. medicine has been relatively understanda understandardized. mission critical steps in the surgery, having blood available, antibiotics given on time, confirming they have been done. allowing them to break down barriers so anybody can raise a concern, the surgeon, the nurse, the anesthesiologist. to make sure the patient gets a safe operation. >> i read about this in your book as well. you want to empower everyone in the hospital. i like to think i listen to everybody. if a nurse says you forgot to wash your hands, i would listen. in your researching and reporting, are people likely to listen? >> some doctors say it's not always the case. when a nurse says something or a junior level doctor says something, the head doctors don't listen. that's sometimes when mistakes happen. peter and i talked a lot about that. >> i hope that culture changes. that doctor she's describing is not me. you are right. hopefully that culture does change. doctor, at the end of the day, there's a lot of people watching who say look, how do i protect myself? how do i protect my family and loved ones? are there tips you give people in the hospital? >> you are absolutely right. there are many things that patients and families do to keep themselves safe. when you are selecting a hospital, make sure you select a hospital and a doctor who does what you are going to go in for a lot. that we know that practice makes perfect and going to a place that people are familiar with the procedure, you are more likely to have a better outcome. the second is actively participate in your care. join rounds with the doctor. speak up. ask questions. i know it's scary for patients. it was scary for me when my children were sick. there's overwhelming data you will get better faster and get better outcomes. when leaving the hospital, be confident that you know how to care for yourself. a great strategy is to read back the instructions the doctors and nurses give you to make sure you understand them in your own terms and your own language, not the fancy language we use in the hospital but simple terms to know exactly what you are going to do to get better. >> good advice. anybody can find themselves in the role of patient. i always tell people that. if you are young and healthy, good add viles. thanks for joining us. my colleague, elizabeth cohen as well. thank you so much. coming up, we are putting your kitchen under the micro scope. how to avoid hidden toxins. we got good tips from "this old house." stay with us. each brita filter can take up to 300 of those bottles out of the equation. ♪ oh, my maltipoo's depressed. but my affordable prius c means i can pay for his acupuncture. whew. i love my pooch. oh no! my homemade sushi... turned p-ushi! use estimated 53 mpg to find a gluten-free alternative. look, this means i'm a chef. 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us. we are going under the micro scope this morning, toxic america. today, we are going focus on your kitchen. there's no way to eliminate harmful substances but you can limit it. here to help us, "this old house" editor, deb. thanks for joining us. this is something that everybody needs to pay attention to. not just talking product that is can be harmful but what you can do instead. >> there are every day products we use with harmful side effects. we are going through alternatives this morning. >> pans. i like the teflon. >> it's easy to clean up. the concern is with older teflon pans, ten years or more older. they were made with a chemical that is linked to birth defects and reproductive problems. if you have 10-year-old teflon pans, it's better to get rid of them. if you are concerned, use stainless steel with a cooking spray. >> what about cleaners. you like the smell of ammonia to smell like your kitchen is clean. >> it's harsh. ammonia can be irritating to the eyes, the throat. >> right. >> really, the danger is, particularly with chlorine bleach and ammonia, mixed they form a toxic gas. be care of of that. there are commercial cleaners labeled voc free, phosphate free. they are better on our health and the environment. they are good options. in the kitchen, we have lemon juice, white vinegar, baking soda. you can make cleaning products out of these. >> what about dish washing soap. i was surprised. you say it may not be a good idea. >> the antibacterial soaps are developed to kill germs in a hospital setting, not a home setting. they do it with a chemical. >> that's right. >> bacteria are becoming resist tent to it. the more we use these products, the less they work. frankly, the stronger the germs become. in your household, you are fine using regular soap and water. studies show and doctors agree, it's just as safe and kills germs as effectively at home as antibacteria antibacterial. it can be a public health problem, exactly. >> can fruits and vegetables, things like that develop because they are so easy to use, people like it because of that? what about the canned foods? >> vegetables in soups in particular, they are in a plastic called bpa. it's a class of chemical that is are endocrine disrupters. it can lead to health problems, higher incidence of heart disease, with your thyroid. really, there are good alternatives here. if you are buying soup, look for soups packaged in a tetra pack paper box that does not have the lining. rely on frozen vegetables instead of canned. you can cook your own soups and such. there are convenience products without this concern. >> there is that option to buy real food. thanks so much. appreciate it. i'm going to have much more in terms of tips here on "sgmd" about making your entire home as healthy as can be. carter is going to show us changes you can make inside your house to breathe easier. the most common sports injuries. they are problems anyone can have. i have had them myself. now it's time to show you how to avoid them. stay with us. i remember the days before copd. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. a little update on a fit nation challenge participant. glenn came to atlanta for the kick off last month. he weighed 300 pounds. it took its toll when we climbed the mountain. his hamstring was hurting him. our trainer helped him with stretching. he's working back into shape. he's lost more than 20 pounds and stretching after every work out. he says his hamstring feels better. it's a perfect segway to my next guest. he sees patients like glenn all the time. you have a book out. it's a great book. the athletes book of home remedi remedies. this should be on everybody's shelf if you are thinking of athletics. thanks for being on the show. i have to ask about glenn. stretching the way he was doing there, is that something you recommend? what is the skinny on stretching? >> in the book, i go through how to make your body active and keep active. somebody like glenn is fighting with his weight and trying to be active. stretching is help fful. strengthening is more helpful. i try to teach exercises to get so they can do more. >> i can't do that, i'm going to get injured, i'm going to hurt myself in in way. what are things people can do to prevent injury? >> the key is to build the muscles around the joints. your bony anatomy is basically fixed. if you have arthritis, that's kind of who you are. and what we want to do is say, listen, that's who you are. but if you use that as appear excuse not to exercise, you're never going to do anything. so i want you to basically set yourself a goal and make your body the strongest goal you can have so you can do that goal and meet this goal. >> what i like about this book is people say that kind of stuff all the time. but you have a lot of examples and pictures, as well, of how to do these types of exercises. i think that really helps. you practice what you preach. you and i both know a lot of doctors who are perfectly fine preaching this stuff but don't do it. tell us, you've done, what, nine irem ironmans now? >> i'm a huge believer in goals. for me, it's the ironman. for somebody else, maybe doing a walk or climbing a empty. i think the key is setting a fitness goal for yourself is hugely important. the thing i like about what i've tried to do in the book, anyway, is to give people examples of things they can do at home so they don't have to go to the gym and buy a trainer. they can do the exercises we have at home. >> p if someone feels like they're injured, how do they know a home remedy is not enough? >> what's the injury? your knee hurts, your back hurts. what can you do? if that's not working, what kind of doctor should you see and when shoouz the doctor? lastly, if you need surgery, how do you make that decision, as well. >> the other question, people talk about simple things, like ice versus heat, for example. best strategy. >> ice is a major inflammatory. icing for about 15 minutes is great. i like frozen vegetables like peas. that's a great way to ice them down in the freezer. about 15 minutes after exercise if you're achy helps a lot. >> broccoli, do you like broccoli? >> i'm more likely to eat broccoli. >> i'm going to keep this book. i appreciate that you wrote it. but i think this whole idea that we need to practice what we preach, that people watch you, watch me, hopefully they'll start doing some of this on their own. >> exercise is medicine, you know? >> food can be, as well. maybe not peas, but lots of different foods. great tips, obviously, to keep you fit and injury free at any age. i hope you will follow some of them. after the break we have been another inspiring story of a fisher mapp who proves you're never too old to learn. we'll explain. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ welcome back. imagine hiding something from your family and your friends your whole life, something you know would change the way they thought about you. and then one day in your 90s you decide to come clean. for 90 mostly sea faring years, jim henry harbored a secret. the lobster man and fishing boat captain couldn't read or write. >> i was so ashamed at myself that i never told anyone. >> growing up with a strict portuguese father, henry was put to work as a young child. his father didn't care about school so henry seldom went to class. >> i didn't learn a thing. i didn't know nothing, absolutely nothing. >> and yet his teachers kept promoting him to the next grade. he got married and he used street smarts to get by. his wife knew he couldn't read a word. friends and family had suspicions, but never asked. it wasn't until his wife became ill that he finally openly admitted he was ill literate. i said, i have to do something. i said i can't go on all my life this way. >> with the help of family and friends, he began to teach himself. >> he went through the entire dictionary from back to front reading. >> studies show as the human brain ages, it becomes more difficult for someone to learn a new skill, especially at the age of 90. but henry thought time must be running out so he hired a tutor to help him. two years later, henry succeeded. he decided to take it a step further. he had all these stories in his head now armed with a book, he published them in a book called "in a fisherman's life." it's become very popular, especially with people with learning disabilities. >> i always thought that he would draw on something in his life. i never realized that this would happen, that this would be so popular. >> today, henry shakes his head when someone calls his an author. he says it's been a journey like no other. >> here i am. >> and just one month from monday, april 19th, jim henry will turn 100. jim is chasing life to 100. he says one of his secrets is getting eight hours of sleep every night. that's pretty good advice. it varies from person to person, but most people need seven hours. chronic sleep deprivation can cause you a year of life. some nights it's tempting to miss some sleep. sometimes we think about our life linearly, but most of us think about our lives in a series of moments. one of the things i wanted to share with you is introducing you to my own father and mother who for years have been helping me to chase life. it's interesting, we're in town this week for a book party and my parents were nice enough to come, as well, and join me on the set. it's a moment i'll never forget. hug your mom, hug your dad. have you got any great tips? how do you chase life? >> we've been retired over ten years now and have been enjoying