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Study : Medical Errors Are the Third Leading Cause of Death

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  johnrussell  •  8 years ago  •  6 comments

Study  :  Medical Errors Are the Third Leading Cause of Death

http://time.com/4316818/leading-cause-of-death-medical-errors/

 

 

251,454 deaths in the U.S. are the result from a medical error per year, a new study finds


Heart disease, then cancer are the leading causes of death for Americans. Chronic lower respiratory diseases like bronchitis and emphysema take third place, according to leading health groups. But that spot really belongs to a cause of death that doesn’t even make the current list, according to a new paper published in The BMJ .

The third-most deadly killers of Americans are medical errors, accounting for more than 250,000 deaths each year, the analysis says.

 

“Collectively, the problem of medical care gone wrong kills a substantial number of people in the United States,” says Dr. Martin Makary, a surgeon and professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Makary and his colleague looked at four studies analyzing U.S. death rate data and determined that about 9.5% of all deaths result from medical errors.

Medical errors encompass a range of potentially harmful mistakes a provider or hospital system could make: misdiagnosis, administering the wrong dosage of a medication or neglecting the care of a patient because of a communication breakdown. Errors like these can be benign, but they can also cause people who have otherwise long life expectancies to meet an untimely death.

On a death certificate, a person’s cause of death is recorded by a billing code, and medical errors aren’t on the list of options, Makary says. That means deaths by medical error are being classified in other ways, and medical errors aren’t being counted by national statistics that determine threats to the health of Americans—and therefore the funding priorities for research.

“In the old school of medicine, it was not well recognized that people actually die from the care that they receive rather than the disease or illness for which they seek care,” he says. Now, a strong body of scientific literature documents the role of medical errors and the importance of patient safety, and “we should have a more open and honest conversation about the problem,” he says.


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JohnRussell
Professor Principal
link   seeder  JohnRussell    8 years ago

I think many people will be shocked by this news.

 

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"On a death certificate, a person’s cause of death is recorded by a billing code, and medical errors aren’t on the list of options, Makary says. That means deaths by medical error are being classified in other ways, and medical errors aren’t being counted by national statistics that determine threats to the health of Americans—and therefore the funding priorities for research."

 
 
 
Petey Coober
Freshman Silent
link   Petey Coober    8 years ago

There is a word for that type of error . Its called iatrogenic .

 
 
 
LynneA
Freshman Silent
link   LynneA  replied to  Petey Coober   8 years ago

If this terminology was used on hospital records or death certificates, we'd have an additional 250,000+ medical malpractice lawsuits! 

 
 
 
pat wilson
Professor Participates
link   pat wilson    8 years ago

Does that include the 100,000 that die every year from prescription meds ?

 
 
 
Petey Coober
Freshman Silent
link   Petey Coober  replied to  pat wilson   8 years ago

Good question ...

 
 
 
FLYNAVY1
Professor Guide
link   FLYNAVY1    8 years ago

Right now there is a huge push for automated diagnostic systems. 

The system will take information on the patient's age, symptoms/problems, vital signs, take in medications/dosage and then list in an order of probability what is possibly wrong.  The system will list tests to confirm/rule out the different potential problems, and if medication is involved, check for allergies, or problems with interaction. What is most important about this system is that it will be able to access millions if not billions of records while calculating probabilities, and track trends and make projections on illnesses that might be tracked back to local environmental sources sooner.  In short, the systems are going to be in a better position to get it right, and right sooner than any human doctor could.

These systems will reduce the number of deaths or complications from misdiagnosis.  Diagnostic doctors will fade away along the line.  Nurses on the other hand will play as much if not a greater roll in patient treatment.

The bad news..... insurance companies are going to be the ones pushing for these systems.  That is one group that has already proven it is not to be trusted to put service ahead of profits.

 
 

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