Recently, a study done by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine said medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. The study says “should” because the documentation of deaths resulting from medical errors is not as complete as it could be. It’s possible that the coding system used by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is not what it should be.
The Johns Hopkins study estimates that more than 250,000 Americans die every year from some medical error. According to the CDC’s official “death list,” that would put medical mistakes at the number three cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer.
Medical errors leading to death cover a broad range of topics including; surgical complications, mix-ups in medicinal doses, and overdoses. The CDC has a coding system that doesn’t recognize things like miscommunications, diagnostic errors or poor treatment judgment.
Death from “medical error” is not included on death certificates. While medical errors may cause or contribute to patient death, it’s not documented as such. Human error is inevitable even in the medical field. Recording errors need to happen so that the medical community can work to reduce errors and resulting deaths.
We know, as a society that diseases like cancer and heart disease cause thousands of death annually. Because we are aware this, we can take steps to try to prevent these conditions with lifestyle changes and advances in research.
If we can’t document the deaths from medical errors, the ability to reduce the number errors and save lives is diminished. The American public deserves to know, and it would also serve the medical community. Human error will always be a factor in medicine and life-it’s unavoidable.
If you think a medical error has contributed to or caused the death of a loved one, contact the Leader Law Firm for a free case evaluation.
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