Hospital Negligence: Yes, Hospitals are Dangerous Places
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A trip to your local emergency room can be a very dangerous experience. Hospital negligence is of epidemic proportions. And this in not the opinion of lawyers. It is the opinion of the medical community.
Current research done by the medical community suggests that nearly 200,000 patients die each year in hospitals as victims of medical mistakes.
Furthermore, there is little evidence that this stagering statistic has improved.
The 2008 study referenced above was conducted by a review of Medicare patient records, usually the poorest members of our society. Can one conclude that economics plays a role in the level and quality of healthcare one receives? Perhaps. But what is certain is that hospitals are dangerous places and medical errors do occur.
Imagine the uproar that would occur if 390 jumbo jets loaded with passengers were to crash and kill all of the passengers over the rest of the year 2009. The level of scrutiny would be unprecedented. The news coverage would be nonstop. People would be demanding that the system be fixed. Yet, as the 2004 study pointed out, that is the number of deaths occurring in American hospitals as a result of preventable errors.
It is not uncommon to pick up a newspaper or turn on the news and hear someone talking about the problems created by the filing of medical malpractice actions. Yet, when reviewing the studies referenced above, it is clear that the real epidemic is in the number of preventable medical errors occuring in hospitals. And the numbers cited above are for DEATHS, not injuries that the patient recovers from. When those numbers are added, the number of preventable errors in American hospitals each year is mind-numbing.
Perhaps you or a loved one has had a similar experience. If so, I would love to learn more about your experience. It is important to share this information. Further, I invite you to check back to this site as we post additional articles, written by a doctor and a nurse, about things you can do to help prevent such medical injuries and protect yourself and your loved ones.
GOLDEN, Colo. (April 8, 2008)
– Patient safety incidents cost the federal Medicare program $8.8 billion and resulted in 238,337 potentially preventable deaths during 2004 through 2006, according to HealthGrades' fifth annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study.
HealthGrades' analysis of 41 million Medicare patient records found that patients treated at topperforming hospitals had, on average, a 43 percent lower chance of experiencing one or moremedical errors compared to the poorest-performing hospitals
– An average of 195,000 people in the U.S. died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a new study of 37 million patient records that was released today by HealthGrades, the healthcare quality company
Lakewood, Colo. (July 27, 2004)