Medical Mistakes Kill 100,000 Americans a Year

[Guest guest]

Dear Misty, I have been enjoying catching up on the server email from this

group. I especially enjoyed the articles on SARS, and the damage of prescription

medications, and the number of deaths due to approved prescriptions. Doctors do

give out drugs like candy, and it's especially worrisome for the elderly

population. I have seen countless examples of this in my career as a nurse. It's

one of the things that truly burned me out. I had to leave for my sanity. I had

no idea that the Hippocratic Oath was changed, and the " First do no harm " clause

was omitted. It makes sense timely wise because that precisely when health care

began to go down hill in my opinion. Thanks again,

Chris Snyder

mschris296

 

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waltstoll

Saturday, 20 September, 2003 05:05

Re: [s-A] [NatFamLife] Medical Mistakes Kill 100,000 Americans a Year

 

 

Hi, Misty.

 

About 20 years ago the AMA altered the Hippocratic Oath and deleted it's

primary admonition: " First do no harm. " The primary admonition now is: " Be

kind and generous to your colleagues. " In other words: " Do not rat on your

fellow docs when they screw up! "

 

Comments?

 

Walt Stoll, MD

 

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" Misty L. Trepke " <mistytrepke

Friday, September 19, 2003 1:45 PM

[s-A] [NatFamLife] Medical Mistakes Kill 100,000 Americans a Year

 

 

Comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Medical Mistakes Kill 100,000 Americans A Year

http://creativehealth.netfirms.com/mistakes.shtml

 

 

The promise every doctor makes is First, do no harm.. But doctors

and hospitals do make mistakes. And the November 30 shocking report

from the Institute of Medicine showed medical mistakes are a common

and potentially life-threatening risk. If medical mistakes counted

among the leading causes of death in America, they would be eighth.

 

Surgical gaffes like amputating the wrong foot or a deadly

chemotherapy overdose make headlines. But patients may never hear of

the more subtle errors, like a delay in diagnosis or testing that

costs precious time to fight off disease. Medical mistakes costing

lives. Medical mistakes are a stunningly huge problem, says a new

report by the Institute of Medicine. It quoted studies estimating

that at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 hospitalized

Americans die every year from errors. To put that into sharper and

more alarming perspective, even the lower figure of 44,000 deaths

exceeds the number of people who die each year either on the

highways, of breast cancer or of AIDS.

 

It is an intolerable situation, especially when it's taking place in

the United States, which leads the world in medical advances. The

cause, according to the Institute of Medicine, is not as much

recklessness on the part of doctors, nurses and other health

providers as it is basic flaws in the way hospitals, clinics and

pharmacies operate. That kind of problem is fixable.

 

As a matter of fact, safeguards have already been implemented to

reduce the likelihood of such lethal medical errors. Some hospitals

are now using computerized prescriptions to ensure that pharmacists

don't misread doctors' scrawled prescriptions. At the urging of

anesthesiologists, anesthesia equipment is being standardized. And

the Food and Drug Administration is trying to reduce confusion by

ensuring that the names of new drugs don't sound too similar to

drugs already on the market.

 

Doctors' notoriously poor handwriting too often leaves pharmacists

squinting to decipher a dose C was it 10 milligrams or 10

micrograms? C or even the name of the prescribed drug. Too many drug

names sound confusingly alike. Consider the painkiller Celebrex and

the anti-seizure drug Cerebyx; or Narcan, which treats morphine

overdoses, and Norcuron, which can paralyze breathing muscles.

 

But far more is needed: a concerted and comprehensive effort to

raise the bar on consumer safety in the health care industry, not

unlike what has already taken place in other industries. Since many

doctors already feel beleaguered by financial constraints imposed on

their care, insurers and health maintenance organizations must also

bear the burden of improving safety.

 

At a minimum, the Institute of Medicine wants to reduce medical

errors by half within five years. Considering the number of people

who die each year in hospitals - where they presumably go to get

better - even that goal may be too conservative.

 

Keeping Up with Changes

 

Health care is a decade behind other high-risk industries in

improving safety, the report said. It pointed to the transportation

industry as a model: Just as engineers design cars so they cannot

start in reverse, and airlines limit pilotsí flying time to keep

them rested, so can health care be improved. Some fixes already are

under way: Some hospitals have computerized prescriptions. The Food

and Drug Administration is hunting ways to catch sound-a-like drugs.

 

Anesthesiologists persuaded many manufacturers to standardize

equipment and thus decreased technology-caused errors. Many doctors

now literally mark the spot of surgical incisions before patients

are put to sleep, so everyone agrees on what will be cut.

 

Changes Coming from Congress

 

The Institute of Medicine is part of the National Academy of

Sciences, a private organization chartered by Congress to advise the

government on scientific matters. Congress just passed legislation

ordering the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to hunt

strategies to reduce medical mistakes. The bill will even change the

name to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to reflect

the emphasis. President Clinton is expected to sign the bill soon.

But the Institute of Medicine said reducing medical mistakes

requires a bigger commitment.

 

It recommended that Congress should establish a federal Center for

Patient Safety. It would require $35 million to start and should

eventually spend $100 million a year in safety research.

 

The report said the total cost of medical mistakes, lost income and

production, cost of disability and health care, totals $17 to 29

billion a year.

 

And thatís not mentioning the human toll. The government should

require that hospitals, and eventually other health organizations,

report all serious mistakes to state agencies so experts can detect

patterns of problems and take action. About 20 states now require

error reporting.

 

But how much and what penalties they impose varies widely. State

licensing boards and medical accreditors should periodically re-

examine health practitioners for competence, stressing safety

practices. Standardized medical equipment and treatment guidelines

can help doctors keep up. Change the ìculture of secrecyî that

surrounds medical mistakes, encouraging doctors to discuss errors as

well as near misses so problems are fixed.

 

But is there something you can do, even from your sickbed, to

protect yourself?

 

Become an Expert

 

First, know what ails you. Ask your doctor all about it. Research it

on the Internet, for instance. Patients should feel entitled to

inquire about their care no matter how sick they are. Second, know

about your drugs. The study shows more than 7,000 die each year

because of medication errors.

 

Kohn L, ed, Corrigan J, ed, Donaldson M, ed. To Err Is Human:

Building a Safer Health System. Washington, DC: National Academy

Press; 1999