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Quotes about Medical Errors from the world's top natural health / natural living authors

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"The report asserted that medical errors kill between 44,000 and 88,000 people per year (the sixth to the eighth leading cause of death), more than killed by automobiles.5 Most errors involved the inappropriate administration of medication. Several medical experts challenged the study, claiming that the findings were grossly exaggerated. Yet research in 2002 corroborated the estimate, claiming that "fully 34% of all doctors said that either they or members of their family had experienced serious medical errors... with serious health consequences."6 Nor is our list complete." - Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea, What If Medicine Disappeared? (Get the book.)

"Complications from "standard-of-care" interventions, medical errors, and overuse of antibiotics are increasing at an alarming rate. When we consider that the fourth leading cause of death in the United States is properly prescribed medications in a hospital setting, something's got to give! Even in 2005, coronary artery bypass surgeries (CABS) are still performed on the basis of clogged arteries alone with no regard to quality of life issues. This is not smart medicine." - Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., The Sinatra Solution Metabolic Cardiology (Get the book.)

"Yet research in 2002 corroborated the estimate, claiming that "fully 34% of all doctors said that either they or members of their family had experienced serious medical errors... with serious health consequences."6 Nor is our list complete. To our consternation we learned about surgeries that should never have been performed. In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives estimated that there were 2.4 million unnecessary operations—a large proportion of them gynecological, resulting in 16,000 deaths and an expenditure of $3.9 billion.7 It took us a moment to make the calculation." - Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea, What If Medicine Disappeared? (Get the book.) "Taken together, the four medicine-induced problems—adverse reactions to drugs, nosocomial deaths, medical errors, and unnecessary surgery—account conservatively for about a quarter million deaths per year (about one per minute in the United States), about 11% of all deaths. Unbelievably, these medicine-induced problems would be the third leading cause of death, behind cancer but ahead of strokes—though neither alone or together are any of these medicine-induced deaths ever shown in official statistics." - Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea, What If Medicine Disappeared? (Get the book.)

"They tallied up deaths from adverse drug reactions, medical errors, bedsores, infections, unnecessary procedures and malnutrition that occurred in hospitals. They added in deaths of outpatients, which totaled 783,936 in 2001. The deaths in 2001 from heart disease were 699,697. Those from cancer numbered 553,251. These researchers also estimated that the number of deaths due to errors is actually 20 times greater since many go unreported or misreported due to fear of lawsuits and confusion about the actual cause of death." - Susan E. Schenck, The Live Food Factor: The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet (Get the book.)

"In Iowa, doctors and hospitals do not have to report deaths caused by medical errors, unless the doctor who was at fault is considered by his peers to be seriously incompetent. In other words, if other physicians and the hospital's chief believe the death was caused by an honest mistake, it can remain a secret. Even if the medical error is reported to Iowa regulators, the information is kept from the public. Only if the state eventually takes action against the doctor does the public learn the briefest of details about the death. By then, many years have likely passed since the patient died." - Melody Petersen, Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs (Get the book.)

"Although nearly one million people die each year from the side effects of medical treatments or medical errors, it is difficult for most people to forsake the illusion of a cure when learned scientists, doctors, pharmacists, the government, and drug makers so convincingly promise them a quick relief of their disease symptoms. It takes great courage, as well as trust in yourself, in your body's innate wisdom, and in nature, to heal what is only yours to heal. To heal cancer, the entire you must become whole again, including your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual self." - Andreas Moritz, Cancer Is Not A Disease - It's A Survival Mechanism (Get the book.)

"The institute estimated that medical errors kill between forty-four thousand and ninety-eight thousand Americans each year. Some 4 percent of the thirty-three million people who are hospitalized annually, about 1.3 million patients, suffer from a complication—or in medical argot, an "adverse event"—that leads to a longer stay in the hospital, disability, or death. One in seven adverse events tallied in the study involved an infection acquired in the hospital. More than half of the adverse events were due to mistakes the reviewers deemed were preventable." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "Unnecessary care also makes medical errors more likely, because the higher the volume of care you receive, the greater the odds are that somebody, somewhere, will make a mistake. In its 1999 report To Err Is Human, the Institute of Medicine estimated that as many as ninety-eight thousand Americans are killed each year by medical error. Another ninety thousand to four hundred thousand patients are harmed or killed by the incorrect use of a drug—they received the wrong drug, or the wrong dose of the right drug, or two drugs that interacted in the wrong way." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"So, it is not only alarming, that a huge number of people are hospitalized today because of the side effects of drugs (wrong medicine, wrong doses, etc), but when one is in a hospital, additionally he can be the victim of medical errors. How many ADRs exist today in the United States hospitals? Well, the American Medical Association, for sure not a drug-enemy, talks about "2.2 million adverse drug reactions among hospitalized patients nationwide."238 Yes, all sorts of drugs are included, but drugs are drugs." - Kenneth W Thomas, Ron Gilbert, Gerd Schaller, Side Effects: The Hidden Agenda of the Pharmaceutical Drug Cartel (Get the book.)

"When doctors give unnecessary treatment, patients are exposed to all the risks—but not the benefits—of medicine, risks that include hospital-borne infections, the complications and side effects that can come with any treatment, and medical errors like the ones that led to Josie King's death. Hospitals, says Fisher, "can be dangerous places." Bad doctors Just how dangerous? Consider some typical medical disasters. A thirty-seven-year-old man was admitted to Allegheny General Hospital, in Pittsburgh, with pancreatitis, an inflammation of his pancreas." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"See updated study of Jennifer Warner, "Medical Errors Still Plague USA hospitals," http://women.webmd.com/news/20040727/medical-errors-plague-us-hospitals 237 In Germany alone, 52 thousand "medications" are on the market despite that WHO states that only 306 are really necessary. Author May Lorrie Davis wrote a book entitled How to Survive a Stay in the Hospital without Getting Killed. The title says it all. But drugs in hospitals also can cause ADR (Adverse Drug Reaction). One should never forget that especially elderly people end up in hospitals." - Kenneth W Thomas, Ron Gilbert, Gerd Schaller, Side Effects: The Hidden Agenda of the Pharmaceutical Drug Cartel (Get the book.)

"They will suffer fewer medical errors, and they will be subjected to less unnecessary, invasive, and potentially dangerous care. Everybody will begin to save money Medicare will see the savings first, but as hospitals are pushed toward efficiency, those savings will spill over to private insurance. That means employers and states will pay less for health care. Primary care physicians will find their services once again in demand. Disease-management companies, which help hospitals figure out the best practices to care for their chronically ill patients will have plenty of business." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"Every year, over 2 million people suffer from adverse drug reactions (ADR's) and other medical errors while in the hospital. Nearly 1 million deaths result from this malpractice annually.88 • Every year, up to 20 million people are unnecessarily prescribed antibiotics.89 • "The American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury at nearly 800,000 in the US. By contrast, the number of deaths attributable to heart disease in 2001 was 699,697, while the number of deaths attributable to cancer was 553,251."" - Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN, Health Begins in the Colon (Get the book.)

"The institute estimated that medical errors kill between forty-four thousand and ninety-eight thousand Americans each year. Some 4 percent of the thirty-three million people who are hospitalized annually, about 1.3 million patients, suffer from a complication—or in medical argot, an "adverse event"—that leads to a longer stay in the hospital, disability, or death. One in seven adverse events tallied in the study involved an infection acquired in the hospital. More than half of the adverse events were due to mistakes the reviewers deemed were preventable." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"A new survey shows that patients usually don't say anything—which puts them at risk for medical errors. Patients were more likely to speak up about possible medication mistakes than about possible incorrect diagnoses or inappropriate treatments. Helpful: Affirm your respect for the doctor's position and competence before suggesting that he/she may have made an error. Joseph Grenny, president, VitalSmarts, a research and training firm, Provo, UT, and coauthor of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. McGraw-Hill." - Bottom Line Health, Bottom Line's Health Breakthroughs 2007 (Get the book.)

"When doctors give unnecessary treatment, patients are exposed to all the risks—but not the benefits—of medicine, risks that include hospital-borne infections, the complications and side effects that can come with any treatment, and medical errors like the ones that led to Josie King's death. Hospitals, says Fisher, "can be dangerous places." Bad doctors Just how dangerous? Consider some typical medical disasters. A thirty-seven-year-old man was admitted to Allegheny General Hospital, in Pittsburgh, with pancreatitis, an inflammation of his pancreas." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "They will suffer fewer medical errors, and they will be subjected to less unnecessary, invasive, and potentially dangerous care. Everybody will begin to save money Medicare will see the savings first, but as hospitals are pushed toward efficiency, those savings will spill over to private insurance. That means employers and states will pay less for health care. Primary care physicians will find their services once again in demand. Disease-management companies, which help hospitals figure out the best practices to care for their chronically ill patients will have plenty of business." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"Hospitals are places where medical errors are rampant; people are given the wrong drugs at the wrong doses, or undergo the wrong medical procedures with horrifying frequency. Sometimes people even have the wrong limbs operated on or amputated, waking up wondering, "Where is my good arm?" There are literally hundreds of thousands of medical mistakes that injure, and even kill, patients in America each and every year. To top it all off, hospitals have terrible air circulation and very rarely allow sunlight into the rooms." - Mike Adams, Spam Filters for Your Brain (Get the book.)

"Unnecessary care also makes medical errors more likely, because the higher the volume of care you receive, the greater the odds are that somebody, somewhere, will make a mistake. In its 1999 report To Err Is Human, the Institute of Medicine estimated that as many as ninety-eight thousand Americans are killed each year by medical error. Another ninety thousand to four hundred thousand patients are harmed or killed by the incorrect use of a drug—they received the wrong drug, or the wrong dose of the right drug, or two drugs that interacted in the wrong way." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"This article identifies medical errors as the 3rd leading cause of death in America (heart disease being first and cancer second). It states that over 250,000 Americans die per year as a result of iatrogenic (physician induced) causes. The death toll broken down is as follows: 12,000 - die from unnecessary surgeries. 7,000 - die from medication errors in hospitals. 20,000 - die from other errors in hospitals. 80,000 - die from infections they get in the hospital. 106,000 - die from adverse effects of medications." - Kelly Harford, M.C., C.N.C., If It's Not Food, Don't Eat It! The No-nonsense Guide to an Eating-for-Health Lifestyle (Get the book.)

"This brings up the obvious question: who is reporting medical errors? Usually it is the patient or the patient's surviving family. If no one notices the error, it is never reported. Janet Heinrich, an associate director at the U.S. General Accounting Office responsible for health financing and public health issues, testifying before a House subcommittee about medical errors, said that, "The full magnitude of their threat to the American public is unknown." She added, "Gathering valid and useful information about adverse events is extremely difficult." - Gary Null PhD, Carolyn Dean MD ND, Martin Feldman MD, Debora Rasio MD, Dorothy Smith PhD., Death by Medicine (Get the book.)

"To reduce medical errors dramatically, the council could oversee creation and operation of a single information technology system that links all health care players—hospitals, doctors' offices, pharmacies, and nursing homes. Deaths caused by an error in one hospital or nursing home could be identified and corrective steps initiated before the error recurs in other facilities. Patient records would be stored electronically. Prescriptions would be computer-generated. It would help ensure correct dosages and preclude the dispensing of drugs with harmful interactions." - Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business (Get the book.)

"Interns long hours cause medical errors resulting in deaths." 'Blood transfusions at birth almost always unneeded." 'Merck tried to bury Vioxx concerns for years." 'Crestor harms kidneys." 'Pain drugs damage heart." 'Antibiotics raise heart death risk." 'Glaxo ordered to release negative data on its drugs." 'Ads for controversial drugs must be changed." 'Drug complaints reach record high." 'Scientists see no need for pain drugs." 'Whistleblower warns of more drug risks." Attention deficit drugs have negative long-term effects." Most people do not need flu vaccines." - Kevin Trudeau, Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About (Get the book.) "Things like unnecessary surgery, medical errors, negative effects of drugs, etc., cause almost as many deaths as heart disease and cancer. Over 250,000 people in America alone die each year from physicians' activity or therapy. These account only for the deaths; they do not include people who are permanently maimed, injured, or develop serious other medical conditions due to drugs and surgical procedures." - Kevin Trudeau, Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About (Get the book.)

"An article in Psychiatric Times outlines the stakes involved with reporting medical errors.26 They found that the public is fearful of suffering a fatal medical error, and doctors are afraid they will be sued if they report an error. This brings up the obvious question: who is reporting medical errors? Usually it is the patient or the patient's surviving family. If no one notices the error, it is never reported. Janet Heinrich, an associate director at the U.S." - Gary Null PhD, Carolyn Dean MD ND, Martin Feldman MD, Debora Rasio MD, Dorothy Smith PhD., Death by Medicine (Get the book.) "General Accounting Office responsible for health financing and public health issues, testifying before a House subcommittee about medical errors, said that, "The full magnitude of their threat to the American public is unknown." She added, "Gathering valid and useful information about adverse events is extremely difficult." She acknowledged that the fear of being blamed, and the potential for legal liability, played key roles in the under-reporting of errors. The Psychiatric Times noted that the American Medical Association is strongly opposed to mandatory reporting of medical errors." - Gary Null PhD, Carolyn Dean MD ND, Martin Feldman MD, Debora Rasio MD, Dorothy Smith PhD., Death by Medicine (Get the book.)

"A report four years ago that estimated at least 44,000 Americans-~-and possibly as many as 98,000-—die of medical errors each year riveted national attention on a subject that academic researchers had been Irving to get the public to notice for years. The new./i^;^3^^ Achieving a New Standard of Care,* was conceived as a first big step in solving the problems laid out in the earlier document, ToEirisHumaa." - Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, Obesity Cancer & Depression: Their Common Cause & Natural Cure (Get the book.)

"They could ask Congress to request studies of the problem by the distinguished Institute of Medicine in Washington in the same depth as the institute did for patient safety and medical errors. They could also pressure Congress to reassess the risks and benefits of the provision in the Bayh-Dole act that cedes huge royalties to investigators. I urge trustees of medical organizations to examine the conflict-of-interest guidelines of their own institutions, make sure that they exist, have enforcement mechanisms, and are updated." - Jerome P. Kassirer, On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health (Get the book.)

"ONLY A FRACTION OF medical errors ARE REPORTED Leape, in 1994, said that he was well aware that medical errors were not being reported.1' According to a study in two obstetrical units in the U.K., only about one quarter of the adverse incidents on the units are ever reported for reasons of protecting staff or preserving reputations, or fear of reprisals, including law suits.24 An analysis by Wald and Shojania found that only 1.5% of all adverse events result in an incident report, and only 6% of adverse drug events are identified properly." - Gary Null PhD, Carolyn Dean MD ND, Martin Feldman MD, Debora Rasio MD, Dorothy Smith PhD., Death by Medicine (Get the book.)

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