Report Says 195,000 Deaths Due to Hospital Error

[midwayer]

Report Says 195,000 Deaths Due to Hospital Error
Tue Jul 27, 2004 06:23 PM ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As many as 195,000 people a year could be dying in U.S. hospitals because of easily prevented errors, a company said on Tuesday in an estimate that doubles previous figures.

http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5790535

[struggle4progress]

1. THIS is why the medical industry is pushing to limit patient lawsuits ...

... But why not get rid of the few lousy doctors who are causing all the problems?

[leesa]

4. the doctors? The American medical system is almost completely broken

Everyone is so overworked and stressed that mistakes are rampant. There ARE no doctors is part of the problem, and no nurses, etc., etc.

[Heddi]

5. I start nursing school in September

and my husband starts within a few months after that....we're just two of unfortunately not enough people who are trying our best to help this situation in the best way we know how---by being PART of the solution instead of sitting on the sidelines and moaning about the problem.

EVERY citizen of this country should have free health care. EVERY citizen of this country should have free education. NO ONE should go to bed hungry, sick, overworked or underpaid EVER AGAIN.

I'm ashamed that not only do we have people who have no health insurance, but no one to treat the problems because hospital workers are so overworked and underpaid. Hospitals are falling apart at the seams---at least community and public hospitals that cater to ALL citizens...not just those lucky enough to have insurance which guarantees everyone a private room with DVD player.....

[struggle4progress]

6. There may be more than one problem but ...

a handful of doctors IS doing disproportionate damage, largely because of lax disciplinary procedures.

<snip>
2. Harvard researchers found that 1% of a representative sample of patients treated in New York state hospitals in 1984 were injured, and one-quarter of those died, because of medical negligence.Nationwide, that would have translated into 234,000 injuries and 80,000 deaths in 1988 from negligence in American hospitals. Most of this involves physicians. There is no clear evidence that there has been significant improvement since then.
<snip>
http://www.medicalmalpractice.com/National-Medical-Malpractice-Facts.cfm


<snip>
It is estimated that in total over 100,000 US citizens die every year as a result of preventable mistakes by healthcare professionals.

The National Practitioner Data Bank indicates that 5% of doctors are responsible for over 50% of claims.
<snip>
http://www.medmalattorney.us.com/statistics.html


<snip>
5. Expanding these estimates to include general medical practice outside of a hospital, the potential abuse by physicians is even greater. An in-depth interview with 53 family physicians revealed that 47% of the doctors recalled a case in which the patient died due to physician error. Only four of the total reported errors led to malpractice suits, and none of these errors resulted in an action by a peer review organization.
6. Medical students at SUNY-Buffalo were asked to recall incidents during their clinical training that raised ethical concerns. More than 200 students responded (40% of total sample); the majority of instances they reported (60%) did not in the researchers’ opinions threaten the patient’s life, health or welfare. This, however, implies that potentially 40% did.
<snip>
http://www.medicalmalpractice.com/National-Medical-Malpractice-Facts.cfm


<snip>
According to current medical malpractice statistics approximately 1% of patients treated in hospitals are injured, and one-quarter of those may have died as a result of clinical negligence which represents almost 250,000 injuries in addition to 80,000 deaths from negligence in American hospitals. Of that number, 7,000 patients died as a result of prescription errors or drug dispensing errors.
<snip>
http://www.medmalattorney.us.com/statistics.html



<snip>
How big is the problem? Medical malpractice is a bigger problem than most people want to admit. Approximately 80,000 people die in the United States each year due partly to medical malpractice (based on an extensive study entitled "Patients, Doctors and Lawyers: Medical Injury, Malpractice Litigation, and Patient Compensation in New York," published by the Harvard Medical Practice Study in 1990, a report to the State of New York). These statistics have since been confirmed by other studies performed in California and New Jersey. Meanwhile, a RAND Corporation Study regarding health care quality by Mark A. Schuster, M.D., Ph.D., Elizabeth A. McGlynn, Ph.D, and Robert H. Brook, M.D., Sc.D. revealed that autopsy studies showed rates between 35 and 40% of missed diagnoses with most resulting in death. Numerically, this is more than three fully loaded jumbo jets crashing every week with no survivors. That number of airplane crashes would mobilize many commissions, government investigations, and a huge effort to prevent the crashes. Unfortunately, since medical malpractice injuries happen separately and privately, the effect is not the same.

Even more disturbing, these numbers are only based on hospital statistics. They do not include deaths from missed diagnoses or medical negligence that occurred in clinics, private doctors' offices, or other treatment facilities.
<snip>
http://www.consumerlaw.com/medical.html



1. Fewer than one-half of 1% of the nation’s doctors face any serious state sanctions each year. 2,696 total serious disciplinary actions a year, the number state medical boards took in 1999, is a pittance compared to the volume of injury and death of patients caused by negligence of doctors. A recent study by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences estimated that as many as 98,000 patients may be killed each year in hospitals alone as a result of medical errors.Earlier studies also found that this was a serious national problem.
<snip>
http://www.medicalmalpractice.com/National-Medical-Malpractice-Facts.cfm



<snip>
Less than 1 in 200 doctors face any professional sanctions each year which represents about 3,000 serious disciplinary actions taken in total annually by state medical boards throughout the country.
<snip>
http://www.medmalattorney.us.com/statistics.html



<edit:>
Oct. 30, 2003
Consumers Can Search Online for Their Doctor
Public Citizen Releases Database With Names of 388 "Questionable Doctors" in Kentucky
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1570
More searchable state "Questionable Doctors" databases available from links at:
http://www.citizen.org/publications/articles.cfm?ID=7166&relatedpages=1&catID=125&secID=1158

[thebigidea]

2. "D'oh! We forgot to plug in the life support machines!"

[Hobarticus]

3. Equal to 390 jumbo jet crashes!

As quoated in Newsweek, they said this figure is equal to 390 jumbo jets crashing and killing all aboard.

Memorize this number for the next time someone grouses about 'trial lawyers', and ask them if they fly.

[depakid]

7. You especially want to avoid the hospital in July

When the new residents arrive on staff....