Epilepsy Talk

Medical Mistakes Out of Control! | June 22, 2020

Here’s a sobering statistic for you…

Believe it or not, the total number of medical errors and deaths in the U.S. equals SIX jumbo jets crashing every day!

If a Jumbo Jet crashed and killed 280 people everyday…365 days a year…year after year…would you be concerned about flying?

Would you question the Federal Aviation Administration? Would you demand answers?

Think about it…close to 100,000 people dying every year from plane crashes. Sounds Ridiculous??!!

The numbers can be overwhelming and astonishing: The error rate of ICU’s (Intensive Care Units) would be like the post office losing over 16,000 pieces of mail every hour of every day.

Or like our banks wrongly cashing 32,000 checks every hour of every day, every year!

In one decade, the deaths caused by conventional medicine are approximately 8 million. This is more than all the casualties from all the wars America has ever fought in. And that’s just one decade.

In short, the American medical system is the number one killer in the U.S.

One in five Americans (22%) report that they or a family member have experienced a medical error of some kind.

Nationally, this translates into an estimated 22.8 million people with at least one family member who experienced a mistake in a doctor’s office or hospital.

According to a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the number of paid malpractice claims reported for events in the outpatient setting was similar to the number in the inpatient setting.

Meanwhile, there are now almost “30 times more outpatient visits than hospital discharges annually,” according to the JAMA study, “and invasive and high-technology diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are increasingly being performed in the outpatient setting.”

However, outpatient settings are rarely regulated like hospitals.

So, those hospital procedures that have been deemed effective in reducing errors need to be modified for outpatient settings.

In hospitals, surgical errors are the number one reason patients or their families file malpractice suits (34%), with diagnostic errors (21%) and treatment errors (20%) rounding out the top three.

In the outpatient setting, diagnostic errors were implicated in a whopping 46% of the malpractice settlements, while treatment decisions comprised 30% of the errors.  At 14%, surgical errors were cited far less frequently as the basis for successful lawsuits.

In both settings though, more than two-thirds of the time these errors led to serious outcomes — for outpatients some 70% of the malpractice claims involved death or a major injury like permanent brain damage.

In other words, outpatient care may be just as hazardous to your health.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that a total of 1.5 million preventable injuries occur each year as a result of lapses in medication safety.

Almost half of these befall residents of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities…about 400,000 afflict hospital patients…and the rest occur in outpatient settings.

Injuries to hospital patients alone are said by IOM to generate $3.5 billion in extra medical costs.

Given that many drug-related injuries go undetected and/or unreported, the report concedes that the estimate of 1.5 million injuries is likely too low.

But as the study titled “To err is human…” asserts: the problem is not bad people in health care — it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer.

Let’s not forget that doctors are people, too. Over worked, overwhelmed, sleep deprived, understaffed and suffer the daily burden of “death” by insurance claims.

My best internist retired a few years ago, long before it was necessary.

When I asked him why, he said: “I went to medical school to help heal people and make them better. I did not go to become an insurance clerk. When you don’t have enough time to treat your patients, it’s time to quit.”

I saw him at a restaurant about a year later. He looked wonderful. Like a different man.

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Another article of interest:

 Study: 1 in 20 Americans Misdiagnosed http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/16/at-least-1-in-20-americans-misdiagnosed-by-their-doctors-study-finds?src=usn_fb

Resources:

http://www.answer-my-health-question.info/medical-error-statistics.html

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/305/23/2427.short

http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/drgrisanti/dangerous_medicine.htm

http://www.newser.com/tag/1119/1/medical-malpractice.html

http://primeinc.org/casestudies/pharmacist/study/812/Medication_Error:_Right_Drug,_Wrong_Route

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/mistakes/causes.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430763/

https://www.mdlinx.com/article/jaw-dropping-medical-mix-ups/lfc-4251

 

 

 

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42 Comments »

  1. I saw a report that says during the covid-19 period my state (Pennsylvania) has had 87% of its normal death rate. And that is with part of the state being in the eastern corridor hotspot. With the lockdown people stayed away from doctors and hospitals. Might have saved a lot of lives.

    Liked by 3 people

    Comment by Sue — June 22, 2020 @ 11:39 AM

    Reply

    • I’m afraid that many hospitals did not treat non-convid patients as a priority. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 22, 2020 @ 12:59 PM

      Reply

    • I have to admit I fall into that category with my husband and children!!!!! But then again I’m from a tiny town and we were told to STAY AWAY from the hospitals from OUR DOCTORS!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:06 AM

      Reply

  2. I’d had a panic anxiety, epileptic seizure because of wearing these masks. 😲

    Liked by 2 people

    Comment by Tambusi Green — June 22, 2020 @ 12:03 PM

    Reply

    • My daughter has the same problem. If she wears a mask she has seizures.

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Sue — June 22, 2020 @ 12:09 PM

      Reply

      • This would make a great story for me to get out to the public. Is there anyone in Boston who is willing to share their experiences? I have covered people with hearing issues, and no one took this into consideration when wearing the masks.
        Thanks.

        Liked by 2 people

        Comment by Mary Ellen Gambon — June 23, 2020 @ 10:44 AM

      • You know same thing for people who maybe have to use “sign language”. A lot of times the “hard of hearing” could still read lips too!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:11 AM

      • I SURE WISH THEY DID!!!!!!! Because when I know I’m going to have a seizure it’s almost like I hold my breath or I simply CAN’T BREATH!!!!!!! I remember one time I was with my biological reproducer and she was taking me to a “baseball game”. I had sunflower seeds in my mouth I was chewing. I began to feel as though i was having an aura and tried to get the sunflower seeds out of my mouth, but couldn’t in time!! I know had the seizure, but then I remember trying really hard to breath but couldn’t because the seeds were stuck in my throat!!!!!!! Next thing I was in the hospital!! AFTER THAT I NEVER ATE SUNFLOWER SEEDS AGAIN!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 12:55 PM

    • HOLY COW!!!!! ME TOO!!!!!!! I had a friend who literally put a face mask with a respirator on it on me to help me breath just because I LITERALLY FROZE IN SWEAT once I put one on!!!!!!! I COULDN’T TAKE the feeling of NO AIR getting into my system!!!!! 😱😱😱😱😱. And just froze and broke out in a really bad sweat!! It was SCARY!!!!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:09 AM

      Reply

  3. Far be it for me to defend the Medical community BUT I must point out that a suggestion that up to 250,000 deaths are caused a year because of medical errors has been circulated for several years, as has a rebutal The figure does not allow for example for the number who would have normally died anyway. See

    https://www.sciencealert.com/no-500-people-don-t-die-in-the-us-every-two-days-due-to-medical-error

    However, I completely agree with you that the number of treatment mistakes and diagnostic mistakes are too high even if they are “only” say 50 a day. And personally I regard hospitals as very dangerous environments and do everything that I can to avoid them!

    And last but not least isn’t it fair to say that many patients who do not take an active interest in their treatment regimes, or who do not eat well or exercise enough are also making “mistakes?” mistakes that increases the chances that they will need treatment and thus be exposed to the possibility of a medical error occurring?

    Liked by 3 people

    Comment by Michael H — June 22, 2020 @ 1:24 PM

    Reply

    • Some doctor sincerely just think they know everything and don’t let up to admit maybe they don’t either or don’t want to humble themselves enough to be a part of the patients team with them patient and pharmacy. Which leaves a bad feelings in their patients overall.!

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:15 AM

      Reply

  4. Thanks for the link and the update, Michael.

    I do agree that hospitals are dangerous places.

    And yes, people must take care of themselves, but many formerly healthy people find themselves in the hospital for necessary procedures that cannot be ignored.

    And that’s where the sad tale begins…

    Diagnosis mistakes (Note: there are various mistakes that can cause a misdiagnosis of a condition. Misdiagnosis can be one of the most costly of medical errors, leading to delayed, omitted, or inappropriate medical treatments.

    Unfortunately, the wording for misdiagnosis is often “misdiagnosis” or “wrong treatment”, so it’s unclear exactly how many were true misdiagnoses — or a wrong condition treated with the wrong treatment.)

    Prescribing errors (68%)
    Technical errors (44%)
    Misdiagnosis (40%)
    Hospital (48%) – account for all errors — including medical procedure error (22%), operating room (7%), emergency room (5%), untrained staff/incompetence (14%),
    Medication error (28%)
    Carelessness/negligence (29%)
    Administration errors (25%)

    And HUNDREDS more…

    Here’s the really discouraging news: about 70% of all errors were believed to be preventable.

    Liked by 2 people

    Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 22, 2020 @ 2:32 PM

    Reply

  5. Thanks for another brilliant article.
    These are ALL the good reasons I’ve been avoiding to take chances for two decades, going through my brain surgery to cure my seizures.
    Having lost confidence in the “health care industry”, I would rather live with my seizures than taking chances with some intern practicing medicine & surgical procedures in hospitals bent on making profit from insurance companies, gambling with human lives.
    Sadly, the oversight authorities keep failing to shutdown these deadly corporate empires for more helpless patients to die in their drive for more financial gains & capital profits.
    Adding the Covid19 pandemic, panic & desperate search for rescue to the list of the medical errors that has already been killing many patients, the deadly cycle is NOT going likely to end anytime soon.
    May God have mercy for the human race.
    Gerrie

    Liked by 4 people

    Comment by BahreNegash Eritrea — June 23, 2020 @ 3:23 PM

    Reply

    • No, I’m so sorry to say that the deadly cycle is never going to end.

      What I’m afraid of is the interns in the ER.

      I was admitted for a gallbladder problem. (I was in so much pain in my back, that I was whimpering.)

      The intern in his undisputed knowledge (???) said I needed my gallbladder removed.

      So, they checked me in and prepped me for the surgery, next morning. But just before, they did a sonogram, just to “make sure”.

      Well, the department head of urology strolled in and said “That’s a nice healthy gallbladder you have there!”

      Then barked at the nurse that I obviously had a rabid kidney infection and that he would meet me in my room to diagnose and determine the treatment.

      Unfortunately, the first, second and third, antibiotic didn’t work. So I was stuck in the hospital for a week. But it sure beat the invasive surgery they were preparing for my gallbladder.

      They weren’t even going to do it laparoscopically. (A minimally invasive procedure that requires only small incisions.)

      Nope. They were going to open me up from hip to hip, dive in and take my gallbladder out. (I’ve seen the scar, because my mother has one, and it truly is NOT handsome.)

      So, even though I spent a week screaming in the hospital for want of antibiotics that worked, it was better than a a stomach incision which would have taken a minimum of six weeks to heal.

      You might say I escaped with the lesser of the two evils. Hmf.

      Liked by 2 people

      Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 23, 2020 @ 4:30 PM

      Reply

      • Thanks to the devine intervention of the department head coming to the rescue on time, you’re fortunate you didn’t had to go through the tormenting experience the amateur & inexperienced surgical team had in mind, ultimately saving you from a whole lot of agony.
        I’m pleased to know that you didn’t end up being part of the list in medical error & malpractice.
        I hate to say it but it’s sad to note that the days of professional skillful medical experts with deep knowledge of their mission are long gone, replaced by voodoo doctors who are more interested in bleeding the patient more money than saving lives.
        Now you know why I’ve been postponing & avoiding to go through brain surgery to “stop my seizures”, recommended & scheduled nearly two decades ago.
        Is the risk worthy of the outcome?
        We’re talking about brain surgery & not hip replacement or hair transplant, very low traumatic procedures.
        Therefore, it has been very difficult decision to make, preferring medication might be the best alternatives for now.
        Best Wishes!
        Gerrie

        Liked by 3 people

        Comment by BahreNegash Eritrea — June 24, 2020 @ 9:48 AM

      • I agree!! But sometimes even the neurologist and epitologists almost seem as they GIVE UP AND TRY ANYTHING TOO!! Sometimes out of frustration maybe or LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:28 AM

      • Isn’t there always supposed to be an OVERSIGHT DOCTOR? Rats even AMOXICILLIN got me REALLY SICK!!!!! Then they realized after a couple of weeks and pain and rashes I was actually allergic to amoxicillin!! Lol 😂

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:26 AM

      • Oversight doctor? Hmmm. That was clearly not the case with your amoxicillin nightmare. And it took them WEEKS to figure it out.

        Not the brightest crayons in the box.

        Liked by 2 people

        Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 26, 2020 @ 11:30 AM

      • Lol well IF THE NEUROLOGIST HAD LISTENED TO ME TO BEGIN WITH AND MY PHARMACIST SPEAKING UP ABOUT THE ALLERY TO GENERIC MEDICATIONS IT MAY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT!! But NEITHER DID!! However I do SLIGHTLY REMEMBER telling the doctor I was ALSO ALLERGIC TO ALCOHOL AND LATEX (at the emergency department) and THEY USED LATEX ANYWAYS WITH ALCOHOL ON ME!!!!!!! An older nurse the following day caught it and seen my hand and arm and pulled out the intervenous line!! Then she moved and changed everything WITH A PROTECTIVE BARRIER on my other hand. THANK GOD!!!!! But even SHE WASN’T HAPPY!!!!!!! Sometimes they either just don’t listen or don’t properly read charts, WATCHES OR CELLPHONES that have all of that information on it!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 12:07 PM

      • 🙏🏼🦅😇🙏🏼❤️

        Like

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 12:56 PM

      • If you’re poor, beginning interns are all assigned to you.

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Ana Daksina — September 19, 2020 @ 12:56 PM

      • Sad, but true. It’s as if your life means less because you have less money.

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — September 19, 2020 @ 1:11 PM

      • Yes Anna, As long as the healthcare system & medical establishments are made to serve the best interest of the wealthy who can afford to pay the high price of their medical treatment at the expense of the poor who can NOT afford to pay their medical bills, the poor will always remain expendable ginnie pigs for the interns to practice their elementary medical degrees, unaccountable for the medical mistakes the poor will have to live with for a lifetime.
        Lucking oversight authority taking decisive actions banning the medical licenses of the responsible “doctors & medical establishments” to control the medical mistakes only expands the spread of the medical errors, the helpless & voiceless poor patients risk their lives for unnecessary hardships the poor are made to live with or die from.
        Therefore, there’s immediate urgent need for radical changes in the healthcare system to stop this growing nightmare.
        Gerrie

        Liked by 2 people

        Comment by Gerrie — September 19, 2020 @ 5:25 PM

      • Wow! What a great contribution your comment is! Thank you, sister 🤗

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Ana Daksina — September 20, 2020 @ 1:43 PM

      • Anna,
        Life is too precious to gamble in medical casinos racing to get rich from “medical mistakes”.
        Talking from traumatic bitter personal experience, watching my friends lose two healthy young pregnant beautiful women die in delivery room during C-Section, I feel the operating room doctors have something to do with the demise of those two young beautiful poor women, knowing that there’s nothing standing on their way from practicing their operations, carrying out the “medical mistakes” on the poor women nor anyone is going to come to the rescue challenging the “medical mistakes” they have learned to get away with.
        Therefore, I wish I was in a position & had the means to enforce practical “contribution” to remedy the unjustified imbalance in healthcare system, I would have made sure of implementing strict regulations of preventing negligent doctors & medical establishments from getting away with their “medical mistakes” by holding them accountable to their crimes, revoking their licences & pushing them out of business.
        I believe healthcare should NOT be flea market, where the poor have to race & compete against the wealthy for affordable medical treatment to save their lives.
        If Cuba can offer better healthcare system & afford free medical treatment for all it’s citizens, so should the USA/Canada.

        Gerrie

        Liked by 2 people

        Comment by Gerrie — September 20, 2020 @ 4:13 PM

    • I agree Gerrie!!!!! The funny part is on one hand they say COVID-19 WILL NOT AFFECT “NEUROLOGICAL PATIENTS” yet THE NEUROLOGY OF A PERSON IS ALWAYS ONE OF THE FIRST CLUES THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THAT PERSON!!!!!!! Plus THE MEDICATION WE INJEST OVER DECADES WILL HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE!!!!!!! I know for myself the minute my head starts killing me then my neck does, my eyes next my stomach and body!! So I hate to say it but my thoughts are NO I THINK EPILEPTICS SHOULD BE THE FIRST PEOPLE THEY SHOULD LOOK AT!!!!! Because we are INSTANTLY AFFECTED!! Mostly due to OUR HEADS AND WHAT THEY DO TO OUR BODIES WHEN NOT WELL!!!!! Funny thing is it seems with me I almost had to SELF LEARN THEN TELL MY FAMILY DOCTOR!!!!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:22 AM

      Reply

  6. Ultimately, it was medication that cleared the kidney infection, albeit that it took a few tries. Even with the head of urology supervising.

    Gerrie, I think it’s a crap shoot, no matter who’s taking care of you.

    But, at least now, I know the antibiotic that works without fail. So, I’m armed with the knowledge I need.

    Liked by 1 person

    Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 24, 2020 @ 9:59 AM

    Reply

    • Phylis, I got a lot of respect & admiration for the supervising doctor personally intervening to stop the unneeded surgery & avoid the medical error which could have caused more health difficulties & hardships than curing the infection.
      I believe more medical errors could have been avoided if the supervising doctors & oversight departments were actively involved in the process of the diagnosis, treatment & surgery of the patients, minimizing the medical errors of the unskilled doctors making decisions on their own without enough experience.
      Let’s hope that the official authorities will come to learn the public risk of medical errors & audit the medical establishments causing more harm than good to the helpless patients in the community.
      In any case, I’m happy to know that you finally managed to find cure for the infection.
      Good for you!
      Gerrie

      Liked by 2 people

      Comment by BahreNegash Eritrea — June 25, 2020 @ 3:54 PM

      Reply

      • Yes, it would be good if everyone worked TOGETHER. Although this was everyone working “together” on the same mistaken premise. (A stupid, inexperienced intern, who was calling the shots.)

        If only my PCP could have been called… Now, there’s a concept.

        But the “real” doc didn’t step in until the 11th hour. I understand that senior personnel don’t do ER duty. But there is now a special branch of medicine (that a friend of mine went into) that is solely ER training.

        The students know that they’re going to be on the front lines of medicine and prepare for it. There’s an emphasis on diagnostics. Because face it, in an ER setting, you don’t have the luxury of time.

        So, once they get into the ER, they know their stuff and act on that knowledge. Not like internists, who are there solely on a “rotation” basis.

        P.S. Many hospitals are audited, but they don’t have to report all “mistakes”. For example, many drug-related injuries go undetected and/or unreported.

        Like

        Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 25, 2020 @ 4:10 PM

      • There is no “I”OR “ME” when it comes to our health and doctor or SPECIALIST OF ANY SORT!!!!!!! It should ALWAYS BE DOUBLED UP!!!!!!!!!!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:32 AM

      • At the very least, as Gerrie said, there should be oversight by a senior doctor, before these clowns dive into you for surgery.

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 26, 2020 @ 11:40 AM

      • EXACTLY!!!!!!! OF ALL SURGERIES OF ANY FORM!!!!!!! I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH GERRIE!!!!!!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 12:12 PM

      • That is really upsetting!! But WHATS even more upsetting is when we can’t do anything about it with the legal system because a lot of lawyers don’t want to take an “epileptics case” due to the fact that they have epilepsy.

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 1:33 PM

      • ME TOO!! 😊🙏🏼🦅😇❤️😘

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:31 AM

    • I AM SO RELIEVED AND HAPPY THEY CAUGHT BEFORE IT REALLY BECAME SOMETHING UNNEEDED!!!!! Good for you and talk about a “STROKE OF LUCK!!”. I’d be asking the “HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT” to PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE BE MY DOCTOR!!!!!!! 🙏🏼🦅🙏🏼

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 11:30 AM

      Reply

      • He DID become my urologist. But, first, I went on to have many, many kidney infections, before he stepped in and found a “cure”. (There are only so many antibiotics you can stand.)

        Believe it or not, it’s a prescription cranberry supplement called TheraCran that I take twice a day. Ever since I started it, no kidney infections.

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 26, 2020 @ 11:37 AM

      • WOW!!!!!!! I wonder if they have that here in Canada? Thank you Phylis 😊

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 12:08 PM

      • It’s available by mail order. You just have to have your doctor prescribe it.

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 26, 2020 @ 12:42 PM

      • I tried to do that with one of my medications and for some reason I wasn’t able to. So I went to my pharmacist and asked why I wasn’t getting the medications I used to get? And he said “because they company no longer makes it”. As for “TheraCan” I wonder if cranberry juice would be the same thing?

        Liked by 1 person

        Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 1:00 PM

  7. No. TheraCran has a proprietary combination of vitamins and minerals. Nothing like cranberry juice.

    Liked by 1 person

    Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — June 26, 2020 @ 1:25 PM

    Reply

    • Really? Hmmmm 🤔🤔 I think I might ask about that with my family doctor. Thank you for the information Phylis 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Comment by Kathy S.B — June 26, 2020 @ 1:34 PM

      Reply

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    Phylis Feiner Johnson

    Phylis Feiner Johnson

    I've been a professional copywriter for over 35 years. I also had epilepsy for decades. My mission is advocacy; to increase education, awareness and funding for epilepsy research. Together, we can make a huge difference. If not changing the world, at least helping each other, with wisdom, compassion and sharing.

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