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And the Third Leading Cause of Death in the US is... Medical Errors

posted by takyon on Saturday May 14 2016, @10:15AM   
from the bzzt-oops dept.

quintessence writes:

A study published in the BMJ found that medical errors may be the third leading cause of death in the United States:

The IOM, based on one study, estimated deaths because of medical errors as high as 98,000 a year. Makary's research involves a more comprehensive analysis of four large studies, including ones by the Health and Human Services Department's Office of the Inspector General and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that took place between 2000 to 2008. His calculation of 251,000 deaths equates to nearly 700 deaths a day — about 9.5 percent of all deaths annually in the United States.

And from the airplane analogy, a simple fix: checklists.

Is it time for a system theory approach to medicine?

Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US (DOI: 10.1136/bmj.i2139)

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Original Submission

• Re:Meaningless statistic Re:Meaningless statistic (Score: 3, Funny) by khchung on Saturday May 14 2016, @02:06PM

  by khchung (457) on Saturday May 14 2016, @02:06PM (#346068)

  No, the #1 leading cause of death is being alive in the first place.

  What is dead may never die. :)

  Parent

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• Re:Meaningless statistic (Score: 3, Funny) by hendrikboom on Saturday May 14 2016, @03:17PM

  by hendrikboom (1125) on Saturday May 14 2016, @03:17PM (#346086) Homepage Journal

  That is not dead which can eternal lie
  And with strange eons even death may die.

  Parent

• Re:Meaningless statistic (Score: 2) by Anne Nonymous on Saturday May 14 2016, @04:53PM

  by Anne Nonymous (712) on Saturday May 14 2016, @04:53PM (#346105)

  Just don't eat any bread and you'll be ok.

  Parent