A research on medical sector finds that medical mistake is one of the leading causes of death in the US. It is in fact, the third in place, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The error includes accidental overdose in giving drugs. Death cancer and heart disease are both in the first and second place to cause death.
According to the university, as reported by the US News, there are nearly 400,000 patients die due to these errors per year. Dr. Martin Makary, who conducts the research with scientist Michael Daniel said that the best way to learn about it; is to count the numbers of death caused by it.
The result, however, is quite different from what the CDC has learned. According to Makary, the CDC places respiratory disease as the leading cause no.3. From Makary's data, the number of people who died of pulmonary disease (149,000 people) is fewer than those who died of medical error (250,000 people).
Furthermore, Makary explains what is wrong with the country's medical research. For all this time, the funds go to cancer and heart-related diseases studies but none of the course analyzed medical error.
With the new report, this is a phenomenon since people died due to the medical care instead of their own health problem. It is an irony that these people sought for professional assistance to treat their injuries and illnesses; but only to find they had gotten a wrong treatment.
Makary and Daniel's finding is backed with a 1999 research by the Institute of Medicine on the same topic. It is said that more than 90,000 people died from medical errors. With this in mind, the number of medical errors is growing from time to time.
According to Makary, it is not about whether doctors and nurses are not handling patients carefully. In fact, they are. But hospital is a busy place where patients come and go and sometimes they are given the wrong medication or sent home without any follow up.
