By Lesley Ranft

Medical Error Death Toll

Medical errors accounted for 225,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2005, according to a published report in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), authored by Dr. Barbara Starfield of Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. This statistic signifies the third leading cause of death, with heart disease at 652,091 and cancer at 559,312. Stroke victims accounted for slightly less than half of the number of deaths attributed to medical errors. Barry D. Lang, M.D., J.D. of Boston, Massachusetts explains, “Many people do not understand the disease process or medical treatment that is available to prevent and deter early stage disease. In many cases, people could have been saved had they been made aware of screenings for disease. For example, colon cancer is curable with early DIAGNOSIS. Stroke damage may be PREVENTED with early diagnosis.”

The Patient Point of View

“The number of deaths caused by physician and/or hospital negligence is equal to a 747 plane going down every other day. It is vitally important that patients proceed with great caution before undergoing any surgical procedure or taking any over-the-counter or pharmaceutical drug. Unfortunately, patients are often misinformed with lack knowledge about their own health care.” as NY patient activist Patricia Donnelly explains. Mrs. Donnelly was instrumental in developing the Patient Health Information and Quality Improvement ACT of 2000, helping to provide 19 million New Yorkers access to www.nyprofile.com or call 888-338-6999. Harisson Donnelly, Pat’s grandson, died due to medical malpractice at 5 years of age.

A Root For the Doctors

In truth, the majority of physicians in America today often perform  exceptionally well in delivering a diagnosis, treatment options and alternatives for people in need- all requirements in informed consent. Yet, when we consider the high number of diseases and procedures today, it may be all but impossible for physicians to keep up. Add to this, the great number of people in need of care,  managed care issues, health insurance caps, and lack of accessibility to advanced technology, physicians can only do their best to provide exceptional patient care today.

Medical Malpractice Related Deaths-1-:

• Unnecessary Surgery: 12,000
• Medication Errors, Hospitals: 7,000
• Misc. Errors, Hospitals: 20,000
• Infections, Hospitals: 80,000
• Drugs Side Effects: 106,000

Medical Error Incidents

• Medication Errors: 1.5 million, of which 400,000 occurred in hospitals, 800,000 long term care, 530,000 outpatient Medicare clinics, according to Institute of Medicine, July 2006.
• Missing Test Results: 13.6% of physician visits; resulting in 44% adverse effects and 59.5% delayed care or duplicate services, according to JAMA, February 2005.

Drug Errors

As Tony Nemo, Attorney at Law, Minneapolis, MN states, “Though doctors may do a good job identifying risks and benefits associated with medications, the information relating to side effects may be buried by the manufacturer. This creates the risk for both doctors and consumers to miss valuable data that may be relevant to their medical condition.” Drug errors may contribute to unhealthy side effects, illnesses, medical conditions and death. In fact, even though drug errors may seem highly unlikely, drug errors may easily occur, as described below:

• Drug Interaction: The interaction of one drug with another that has a negative effect
• Improper Drug Dosage: Confusion in reading the physician’s writing resulting in improper dosage.
• Wrong Drug: Mix up of drugs at hospitals sometimes due to closely related names
• Lack of Discovery in Drug Side Effects
• Unsuitable Drug Labeling: Packaging that does not adequately warn consumers and physicians about drug side effects
• Lack of Patient Information Disclosure: Patients that do not disclose full information about medical history, over the counter drugs, medications, vitamins, natural healing remedies are at risk of a negative interaction between the drug and any new treatment that a doctor prescribes.

Patient Tips
As Kevin O’Brien, Attorney at Law, Chicago, Illinois warns, “It is important for consumers to understand that they must participate in the decisions regarding their health care. Though insurance companies may not approve of treatment that your doctor has prescribed, seek out those treatments and submit expenses to insurance companies accordingly. Should treatment costs be rejected by your third party administrator, you can resubmit claims through an appeal process which can result in payment for the associated expenses.” There are several other proactive actions that patients can take, including:

• When you undergo laboratory tests, follow up with the doctor about test results and inquire about the next step.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
• Consider a second opinion or second hospital when you are not comfortable with the diagnosis or treatment provided by the first opinion or hospital.
• Research information about medications that are prescribed to you. Verify information through several resources such as the Internet, pharmacy, and manufacturer.
• Thoroughly read the detail information about the medications you are taking that is provided in the manufacturers package insert.
• Check on the medication dosage that has been prescribed for you.
• Always have another person with you to support you when visiting doctors and hospitals. The additional person can take in and inquire about information provided by the attending doctors.
• Do not allow insurance companies to decide if you require treatment. Insurance companies may not approve of tests or treatment that you may need. It is important to seek out such tests and treatment. Plan to submit expenses thereafter.
• Obtain your medical records before you leave any hospital, review them and provide them to your next physician.

As Matthew Curtis, Attorney at Law of Southfield, Michigan adds, “Consumers today should research information about the doctors that they are planning to see. Unfortunately, information about doctors is not often readily accessible. However, information may be found on the Internet, courthouse records and the attorney general’s office. Consumers need to ask doctors about their training. Inquire about the number of times that the procedure has been performed by the doctor.”

Medical Malpractice and the Law
While it’s true that to err is human, the end result of medical malpractice can be life changing in many ways. There’s little chance of  financial recovery as well. Ironically enough, an auto accident victim’s family may recover damages from insurance companies should the accident result in death, but a medical error victim may not.  The laws regarding medical malpractice have been rewritten over recent years, making it difficult for people suffering from harm to recover. As Bob Karney, Attorney at Law, of Charlotte North Carolina explains, “The laws today restrict the rights of individuals. Lawmakers have narrowed the criteria for the submission of expert witness testimony, making it difficult to present varying opinions from medical experts that would help demonstrate the validity of med mal cases. These laws have seemingly obstructed the nations’ check and balance system that would otherwise help to reduce medical errors. Today, it is important for consumers to carefully select their doctors and seek out second opinions.”  Only a select number of attorneys take on medical malpractice cases. Such cases usually involve severe, permanent damage that is life changing for the injured party and family members.

It is important to keep in mind that there are 72 medical specialties and only 24 are recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties as of approx. 2 yrs ago  (22 other specialties had pending applications).  In ophthalmology alone, there are over 500 medical conditions relating to the eyes. Imagine the number of medical conditions that are possible. People need to be self responsible for their care to a certain extent.

Connected Topics: Product Liability, Pharmaceutical Drugs, Personal
Injury Attorneys and You, Personal Injury Compensation.

-1- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/lcod.htm