According to analysis published in the BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal), medical errors claim the lives of 251,000 Americans each year. This puts it higher on the list than accidents, strokes, respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s, and more. The only conditions that cause more deaths are heart disease and cancer. Medical errors are considered to include everything from issues in the hospital system, communication breakdowns, incompetent doctors, drug medication errors, and more.
The study was conducted by Martin Makary, who serves as a professor of surgery for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. One of his major concerns is the fact that there are too many people who are dying as a result of the care they receive rather than the condition for which they sought medical attention. Medical errors have been a topic of discussion over the past two decades or so, with an Institute of Medicine Report in 1999 calling preventable medical mistakes an epidemic. This has led to plenty of discussions regarding how this can be fixed.
Part of the study showed that the 251,000 annual deaths is equivalent to 700 deaths a day. This means of all deaths in the United States each year, 9.5% are the result of a medical error. There are some that believe the number could be more, but with the way cause of death is currently labeled, there is a potential that many deaths are not being accurately reported.
[Ed: then see next article for particular significance for women].
Source: Medical Errors Third Leading Cause of Death in the US
https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139.full