According to
a new study published in the BMJ, online May 3, 2018, more than 2 lakh deaths
in the US are due to medical errors.
Researchers
from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine examined four separate studies
that analyzed medical death rate data from 2000 to 2008. Then, using hospital
admission rates from 2013, they extrapolated that based on a total of
35,416,020 hospitalizations; they calculated 251,454 deaths were due to a
medical error, which translates to 9.5% of all deaths annually in the US. This
number is much higher than respiratory disease, which as per the CDC is the
third leading cause of death and kills around 150,000 people in a year.
But,
according to other organisations, the number of deaths due to medical errors is
much higher than 2 lakhs and is around 440,000.
Medical
errors are the third-leading cause of death in the US after heart disease and
cancer.
Medical
error-related deaths occur due to:
· Preventable
adverse effects
· Error in
judgment
· Lack of care
· Inadequately
trained staff (most important)
· Out of date
computer systems that break down
· Medication
mix-ups
· Undiagnosed
complications after surgeries
· Communication
failures with patients
The number
of medical error-related deaths will be much higher in India because of the
large population; also, there is no system of reporting of errors of other
pathies. This is further compounded by the fact that even non-qualified doctors
are treating patients.
The public,
including the patients, needs to understand that medicine is an art, based on
science, yet it is not an exact science. No two patients are alike and
clinical decisions are tailored to individual patients. Therefore, uncertainty
is a part of day-to-day medical practice, where errors are inevitable.
So, for
someone to be able to say it is negligence the following circumstances must be
present:
· Doing what
the healthcare provider should not have done under the circumstances.
· Not doing
what the healthcare provider should have done under the circumstances.
· Medical
error must have caused identifiable injury
Because medical
errors are bound to occur, there should not be a public media trial for making
a mistake, unless the error is gross. If every medical error is flashed on the
front page of newspapers and cases are filed against doctors in courts, it will
adversely affect the doctor-patient relationship, which is already very
fragile.
The possible
answers can be:
· Explain the
cost right at the time of admission
· Be
transparent in your cost
· Have a
contract signed by the patient at admission, which explains about existing and
non-existing facilities
· Sign a
contract about the liability limit for any possible mishap
· Make
likelihood of medical errors a part of informed consent process
Dr KK
Aggarwal
Padma
Shri Awardee
President
Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)
Group
Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President
Heart Care Foundation of India
Past
National President IMA
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