Medical Error Crisis

The unfortunate truth about medical errors is that they plague the poor and uninsured, reflecting the great medical inequality in our country. For those who do not consider medical errors to be a problem, consider this: medical errors kill between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans every year. This reflects the fact that medical errors kill more people per year than breast cancer, AIDS, or motor vehicle accidents. Doctors complain of inflated medical malpractice insurace costs, but medication-related errors for hospitalized patients cost around $2 billion annually.

The 41 million uninsured Americans exhibit consistently worse clinical outcomes than insured patients with the same maladies and are at increased risk for dying prematurely. Only 55% of patients in a recent random sample of adults received recommended care in treatments and preventative treatments, and the lag between the discovery of a new medicine and its adoption by doctors is 17 years. You could suffer from an ailment and not receive the proper treatment simply because your doctor is not well educated about treatments that were invented almost two decades ago!

The problem is not restricted to administering too little medication. Every year millions of people are unnecessarily hospitalized. Using excessive, unnecessary antibiotics to kill infections outright is a widespread practice that, while curing individual patients, cause strains of a disease to mutate and grow stronger, resulting in more serious infections for the entire population. In 1993, excessive antibiotics were prescribed in 20 million cases, and by now that number has multiplied.

Adverse drug reactions, procedural errors, and nosocomial infections are all aspects of medical error. Surveys have found that medical error is the norm in many instances. Medical error actually occurs in the majority of patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension, tobacco addiction, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, asthma, depression, and atrial fibrillation. If you have any reason to believe that your doctors have administered an inappropriate treatment, prescribed unnecessary hospitalization, or otherwise jeopardized your wellbeing, consult a lawyer right away.

If you have more questions, contact a medical error attorney or read about other medical malpractice cases at http://www.hugesettlements.com. If you use this article, please include these links.

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Google News Updated : Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:25:10 GMT Garden Grove man dies after West Nile infection - Los Angeles Times ChattahBox Garden Grove man dies after West Nile infection Los Angeles Times - 2 hours ago By Stuart Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer A Garden Grove man has died from after being infected with West Nile virus, the second death in Orange County from the mosquito-transmitted disease this month, the Health Care Agency disclosed today. West Nile virus causes 2nd death in California San Jose Mercury News West NIle mosquitoes found in Tinley Park Chicago Sun-Times Amherst Bulletin - KEYT - Denver Post - Newsday all 454 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:38:44 GMT Giambi delivers game-winner for Yanks - MLB.com Washington Post Giambi delivers game-winner for Yanks MLB.com - 3 hours ago By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com NEW YORK -- Jason Giambi's game-winning single to center field in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Yankees over the Red Sox, 3-2, on Thursday salvaging the finale of the last regular-season series between the storied ... Giambi and Yanks avoid sweep by Red Sox Sports Network Giambi's Heroics Lift Yankees In Finale Hartford Courant New York Times - The Associated Press - International Herald Tribune - The Republican - MassLive.com all 1,077 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:52:53 GMT Salmonella Outbreak Ends With Questions - New York Times New York Times Salmonella Outbreak Ends With Questions New York Times - 3 hours ago By Mike Nizza The United States government’s response to the Salmonella outbreak has emerged in a series of utterly frank briefings, so it was fitting that officials wrote the last chapter with a hint of uncertainty. CDC: Salmonella outbreak appears to be over CNN CDC: Salmonella outbreak appears to be over The Associated Press International Herald Tribune - eFluxMedia - Seattle Post Intelligencer - CIDRAP all 526 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:03:08 GMT Will Gustav prompt GOP to delay its convention? - Houston Chronicle Boston Globe Will Gustav prompt GOP to delay its convention? Houston Chronicle - 34 minutes ago By PEGGY FIKAC Copyright 2008 San Antonio Express-News AUSTIN - A Republican National Convention spokeswoman left open the possibility today that the Minnesota gathering set to nominate US Sen. John McCain could be delayed if Gustav hits the Gulf Coast ... Video: Gustav Strengthens, New Orleans Braces AssociatedPress New Orleans asks: Will the rebuilt levees hold? The Associated Press Financial Times - Bloomberg - MSNBC - BusinessWeek all 3,311 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:50:50 GMT A blogger takes office in Malaysia - Christian Science Monitor BBC News A blogger takes office in Malaysia Christian Science Monitor - 6 hours ago Five years of blogging has brought Jeff Ooi a measure of notoriety. His biting posts on Malaysian politics sparked police investigations. Anwar Makes Victorious Return to Malaysian Parliament Voice of America Anwar, back in Malaysia parliament, stages walkout The Associated Press AFP - Inquirer.net - TIME - BBC News all 1,421 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:45:52 GMT Death toll climbs as Gustav barrels through Caribbean - AFP AFP Death toll climbs as Gustav barrels through Caribbean AFP - 54 minutes ago KINGSTON (AFP) - Tropical Storm Gustav battered Jamaica Thursday as the death toll climbed to 51 in Haiti, two days after the storm raked across the impoverished nation at hurricane strength. Video: New Orleans Watching Gustav's Path AssociatedPress UPDATE 3-Gustav threatens Jamaica, new storm in Atlantic Reuters The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - WSAV-TV - BBC News - WJTV all 5,341 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:30:35 GMT Aaron Sorkin Signs Up for Facebook - Zap2it.com Times Online Aaron Sorkin Signs Up for Facebook Zap2it.com - 8 hours ago Sorkin is in negotiations to write an untitled film project about the creation and expansion of the popular social networking site Facebook. Coming soon: 'Facebook: The Movie'? Los Angeles Times 'West Wing' creator may be writing movie about Facebook Computerworld Christian Science Monitor - Reuters - eFluxMedia - BBC News all 126 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:18:21 GMT Automatic Blogging RSS Software

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