How Many Die From Medical Mistakes in U.S. Hospitals?

How Many Die From Medical Mistakes in U.S. Hospitals?
by Marshall Allen
ProPublica
Sep. 19, 2013

...In 2010, the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services said that bad hospital care contributed to the deaths of 180,000 patients in Medicare alone in a given year. Now comes a study in the current issue of the Journal of Patient Safety that says the numbers may be much higher — between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year who go to the hospital for care suffer some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death, the study says.

That would make medical errors the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease, which is the first, and cancer, which is second.

The new estimates were developed by John T. James, a toxicologist at NASA’s space center in Houston who runs an advocacy organization called Patient Safety America. James has also written a book about the death of his 19-year-old son after what James maintains was negligent hospital care...

Kaiser Permanente Dr. Paul Phinney Simple Doctor Extraordinaire!

Kaiser Permanente Dr. Paul Phinney Simple Doctor Extraordinaire!
Youtube video
Mar 21, 2012

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Carmen Balber is the director of Consumer Watchdog's new Washington, D.C. office, and its eyes, ears and voice on national public policy. She is also point person for research and advocacy that exposes the corrupting influence of cash and corporation on politicians. She coordinates Consumer Watchdog's public education efforts on medical malpractice and is a legislative advocate on issues ranging from financial system and healthcare reform to protecting the civil justice system and corporate accountability.