Tag: medical errors

The Tragic Toll Exacted by Medical Errors

Via Mercola

Story at-a-glance

  • Medical errors are a significant global issue, with the World Health Organization estimating they cause 2.6 million deaths annually worldwide. In the U.S., this number could be as high as 440,000, making it the third leading cause of death
  • 10% of all deaths in the U.S. are attributable to some kind of medical error, and it continues to be a leading cause of death today, ranking somewhere between third and first place, depending on the scope of medical mistakes you include in the equation
  • The documentary “Medical Errors: Why Doctors Make Mistakes” underscored a crucial issue in the medical community: the reluctance to openly discuss mistakes, which can hinder learning and improvement, contributing to ongoing errors
  • A mix of inexperience, fatigue and diagnostic challenges contributes significantly to medical errors, complicating the efforts to reduce these mistakes
  • To minimize your risk of harm from medical errors, consider creating a “Caregivers and Consent” document that spells out what your doctor may or may not do to you while you’re hospitalized. Also be sure to always bring family member or friend who can act as your advocate and keep track of what’s being done to you

The documentary above, “Medical Errors: Why Doctors Make Mistakes,” explores the causes behind medical errors, which according to the World Health Organization claim 2.6 million deaths each year, worldwide, with at least 250,000 of those in the U.S.1

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Increasing Rate of Medical Mistakes and Misdiagnosis

Via Mercola

Story at-a-glance

  • In the U.S., an estimated 795,000 people become permanently disabled or die every year due to misdiagnoses
  • Overall, medical conditions are misdiagnosed about 11% of the time, but the likelihood of misdiagnosis varies widely depending on the type of medical problem and the symptoms presented
  • Among strokes, a leading cause of disability in the U.S., misdiagnosis occurs more than 17.5% of the time
  • Among patients transferred to a hospital ICU or who died in the hospital, a missed or delayed diagnosis took place in 23% of cases, and 17% of the time the errors caused temporary or permanent harm or death
  • Compared to white men, ethnic minorities are 30% more likely to be misdiagnosed while women are at a 20% increased risk of misdiagnosis

Medical errors remain a leading cause of death in the U.S., where an estimated 795,000 people become permanently disabled or die every year due to misdiagnoses.1 Among hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU), diagnostic errors are also disturbingly common.2

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