Medical Errors No. 3 Cause of U.S. Deathss

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Things are more often overlooked or missed in a diagnosis. If this qualifies as an error, I buy it. Oftentimes when someone dies in the hands of an anesthesiologist for example, it usually involves an overlooked allergy or heart condition. I have seen this a few times personally.
 
My company develops new drugs and the FDA shot down our name for the drug because they said that, due to doctor's poor penmanship on Rx, it could be confused with another drug. My understanding is that FDA actually has people intentionally use sloppy penmanship to write out drug names and have pharmacists see if they can read the name or if they get confused with other drugs.

Bottom line is we all need to advocate for ourselves and loved ones. Make sure you know what drug and dosage you're supposed to get from the pharmacy and check it on line to make sure it looks like what it's supposed to look like.
 
Originally Posted By: Danno
Maybe because all the other causes of death have been reduced to the point where errors are now hitting top 3?

+1
 
Medical malpractice has for years and years has been a huge cause of deaths,it is not a new factoid.
 
Originally Posted By: Danno
Maybe because all the other causes of death have been reduced to the point where errors are now hitting top 3?


Greater scrutiny is bound to put this higher up in the causes of death...hospitals are never a good place to be and if there's rushed or inadequate sterilization, it can have fatal consequences independent of any improper drugs that might pop up. A friend of mine died due to improper sterilization of a trach tube that led to cardiac arrest.

Hospitals do their best but scrutiny is very warranted if the natural impulse is to say that they're the professionals and give them a pass. You're the steward of your own health care and you can only benefit from educating yourself on these types of issues.
 
My father was in the Australian Health Insurance Commission, and saw the stats decades ago in Oz.

10-20 times the road toll, and not missed/misdiagnosis...death due to the "correct" application of current treatments, and just plain negligence.

They didn't get to number 3 because the others dropped, they are there and ignored.

http://www.medicalerroraustralia.com/

Cases that I'm aware of
* guy went in to have a lung removed. Surgeon severed the aorta on the common side, not on the dieseased lung side, murdering him basically...family was told that they knew the risks going in, it was risky surgery, and the patient didn't make it.
* not life threatenting, but hung over surgeon doing a knee cartilage trim got the loud pedal jammed under something, and destroyed a guy's knee on the inside, requiring reconstruction...patient was told that it was "worse in there than we thought"
* my parents have been called in half a dozen times to "say goodbye" to my sister after surgery. Each time, they have flattly ignored the admission sheet that she suffers anyphalaxis when exposed to latex...she has her own anesthetist these days, who having seen her nearly die on the table looks after that side of her care.
* bloke in the rifle club was in a really bad way (diabetese complications) when some bright spark decided to grind his oral medication into a powder and inject it.
* Neighbour's wife in nursing home was overmedicated due to a cross up in the number/frequency of a couple of her drugs.

The ones on the table have been given to me by a theater nurse who has seen many deaths on the table due to mess-ups..."they didn't pull through" is all the families get. Requires a whistle blower in the theatre to get action, and whose going to listen to a scrub nurse ?

The reason that the medical profession wants tort reform is that like any profession, they make mistakes...but they want to be somehow immune to the consequences unlike the rest of us.

When they get it, like happened in Oz, it doesn't save you or your insurance company a single red cent...and their obligations for (say) leaving a tray of cutlery in a patient during surgery are simply to get the tray out.
 
30+ years working at many hospitals and I tell people do you best to STAY OUT OF ANY HOSPITAL !!!

You are at the mercy of the incompetent staff.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
My understanding is that FDA actually has people intentionally use sloppy penmanship to write out drug names and have pharmacists see if they can read the name or if they get confused with other drugs.

Welcome to the 21st century. Prescriptions are now electronically sent to drug dispensaries .
 
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Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
30+ years working at many hospitals and I tell people do you best to STAY OUT OF ANY HOSPITAL !!!

You are at the mercy of the incompetent staff.


+1
 
Overworked doctors and nurses. Worsening health of the population. [censored] software. Nonsensical insurance rules. Etc.

There's a push by Medicare to improve quality but that's not a very compatible goal with the other goal of paying hospitals less.
 
Getting your oil changed or your knee changed correctly both can be of concern I guess.
frown.gif
 
It is not only incompetence but greed driven also,
Dr are happy to unnecessary procedure as doing procedure they can rake in big $$$s.
 
Originally Posted By: stockrex
It is not only incompetence but greed driven also,
Dr are happy to unnecessary procedure as doing procedure they can rake in big $$$s.


I overheard an anesthesiologist warning his fellow anesthesiologists there was a surgeon pressuring the anesthesiologists to clear patients for surgery even though they were in very poor health and could die during surgery.

Surgeon did not care... it was 'slash for cash' and he only cared about $$$$. If patient died during surgery, the surgeon would blame the anesthesiologist for clearing patient for surgery.

100% of blame would be on anesthesiologist, his medical license would also be in jeopardy, he would also get sued for $ millions.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
30+ years working at many hospitals and I tell people do you best to STAY OUT OF ANY HOSPITAL !!!

You are at the mercy of the incompetent staff.
My wife has numerous war stories she has seen or heard about. Stay far away if possible. Doctors ignoring obvious symptoms. Doctors ignoring observations from sharp highly experienced nurses that have been with patient for days because they're there for three minutes and have an ego. Doctors listening to idiot nurses. Med lists are simply a total disaster. Out of whack patient ratios. Patient care assistants acting like doctors and administering their own treatment plans. Idiot staff at all levels. Just goes on and on. A hospital is like a horror movie.
 
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I've been to some terrible hospitals.

I would rather be taken to the Florida Everglades and pushed into alligator infested swamp than be a patient at a hospital where medical staff did not care about their patients.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I've been to some terrible hospitals.

I would rather be taken to the Florida Everglades and pushed into alligator infested swamp than be a patient at a hospital where medical staff did not care about their patients.

Worse yet, suppose you were bitten by the alligator and THEN taken to a hospital where medical staff did not care about their patients.
 
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