US Medical Errors Resulting In Death – Not Exaggerated

Last November, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report stating that “between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in US hospitals annually as a result of medical errors.”

Since the report was released some physician groups have questioned the claim stating that the reported numbers were too high yet the July issue of JAMA features an article by Lucian L. Leape, MD titled “Institute of Medicine Medical Error Figures Are Not Exaggerated”

According to the article, “the objective of the IOM report, and the thrust of its recommendations, was to stimulate a national effort to improve patient safety” although what captured everyone’s attention was the finding that “between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in US hospitals annually as a result of medical errors.”

After reviewing the data, one may suggest that the numbers involving medical error are under reported in the US. From the JAMA article comes the statement that, “many important events in patient care are not recorded in the medical record. Some errors are not even known to clinicians caring for the patient.”

As an example, autopsy studies have found “potentially fatal misdiagnoses in 20% to 40% of cases” according to the article. The article further states that “the reliance on information extracted from medical records most likely led to a substantial underestimate of the prevalence of injury.”

Don’t forget Dr. B.J. Palmers definition of diagnosis, with “Di” meaning two and “agnos” meaning don’t know, resulting in “both the physician and the patient don’t know.”

In the article Dr. Lucian L. Leape sites three reasons suggesting that the IOM report was not exaggerated. In fact, the numbers reported were considered “lower bound” at best.

It is interesting to note that the numbers of errors reported did not include surgical procedures taking place outside of hospitals which the article states as being “more than half of surgical procedures” in the U.S.

Source: JAMA Institute of Medicine Medical Error Figures Are Not Exaggerated