Here is a powerful article which appeared in the peer-reviewed Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA, Vol 284 July 26, 2000) on the role played
by doctors in hastening the departure of people from this planet. Here are a
few extracts - read the entire article for more details:
Doctors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US, Causing 250,000
Deaths Every Year
<http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/doctors_death.htm>
The author is Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene
and Public Health and she
describes how the US health care system may contribute to poor health.
ALL THESE ARE DEATHS PER YEAR:
12,000 -----unnecessary surgery
7,000 -----medication errors in hospitals
20,000 ----other errors in hospitals
80,000 ----infections in hospitals
106,000 ---non-error, negative effects of drugs
These total to 250,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes!!
What does the word iatrogenic mean? This term is defined as induced in a
patient by a physician's activity,
manner, or therapy. Used especially of a complication of treatment.
Dr. Starfield offers several warnings in interpreting these numbers:
First, most of the data are derived from studies on hospitalized patients.
Second, these estimates are for deaths only and do not include negative
effects that are associated with disability or discomfort. Third, the
estimates of death due to error are lower than those in the IOM report.
If the higher estimates are used, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes would
range from 230,000 to 284,000. In any case, 225,000 deaths per year
constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United States, after
deaths from heart disease and cancer. Even if these figures are
overestimated, there is a wide margin between these numbers of deaths and the
next leading cause of death (cerebrovascular disease).
Another analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of consecutive patients
experience negative effects
in outpatient settings, with:
116 million extra physician visits
77 million extra prescriptions
17 million emergency department visits
8 million hospitalizations
3 million long-term admissions
199,000 additional deaths
$77 billion in extra costs
The high cost of the health care system is considered to be a deficit, but
seems to be tolerated under the
assumption that better health results from more expensive care.
However, evidence from a few studies indicates that as many as 20% to 30% of
patients receive inappropriate
care.
An estimated 44,000 to 98,000 among them die each year as a result of medical
errors.2
This might be tolerated if it resulted in better health, but does it? Of 13
countries in a recent comparison,3,4 the United States ranks an average of
12th (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators. More
specifically, the ranking of the US on several indicators was:
13th (last) for low-birth-weight percentages
13th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall 14
11th for postneonatal mortality
13th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)
11th for life expectancy at 1 year for females, 12th for males
10th for life expectancy at 15 years for females, 12th for males
10th for life expectancy at 40 years for females, 9th for males
7th for life expectancy at 65 years for females, 7th for males
3rd for life expectancy at 80 years for females, 3rd for males
10th for age-adjusted mortality
The poor performance of the US was recently confirmed by a World Health
Organization study, which used
different data and ranked the United States as 15th among 25 industrialized
countries.
There is a perception that the American public "behaves badly" by smoking,
drinking, and perpetrating
violence." However the data does not support this assertion.......
-----------------
The following articles also address the same issue:
<<A HREF="http://www.mercola.com/1999/dec/5/medical_mistakes.html">
http://www.mercola.com/1999/dec/5/medical_mistakes.html</A>>
American Family Physician Vol 56 No 7, 1997
Eileen G. Holland & Frank V. DeGruy
<<A HREF="http://www.aafp.org/afp/971101ap/holland.html">
http://www.aafp.org/afp/971101ap/holland.html</A>>
Drug-Induced Disorders
Recent estimates suggest that each year more than 1 million patients are
injured while in the hospital and approximately 180,000 die because of these
injuries. Furthermore, drug-related morbidity and mortality are common and
are estimated to cost more than $136 billion a year. The most common type of
drug-induced disorder is dose-dependent and predictable. Many adverse drug
events occur as a result of drug-drug, drug-disease or drug-food interactions
and, therefore, are preventable. Clinicians' awareness of the agents that
commonly cause drug-induced disorders and recognition of compromised organ
function can significantly decrease the likelihood that an adverse event will
occur. Patient assessment should include a thorough medication history,
including an analysis of all prescribed and over-the-counter medications,
vitamins, herbs and "health-food" products to identify drug-induced problems
and potentially reversible conditions. An increased awareness among
clinicians of drug-induced disorders should maximize their recognition and
minimize their incidence.
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Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/
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