AARP Reports That Fatal Medical Mistakes Kill 98,000 People Each Year
In its April 2006 issue, the AARP reports that at least 98,000 Americans die and millions more are injured as a result of medical errors. As an example, a new study by the Duke Clinical Research Institute found that inappropriate drugs are prescribed to one in five people over the age of 65.
The article quotes Carol Haraden, vice president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as saying "
Care is so poorly organized. Right now doctors operate in fiefdoms. The lung specialist doesn't remember you have depression or a kidney disorder."According to Dr. Mark R. Chassin, executive vice president at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York,
"We have not devoted the attention, effort and resources to turn health care into a highly reliable industry." "I don't see any real leadership, and there's still no demand from the public for excellence in health care>"
The AARP reports that if hospitals adopted computerized drug ordering systems for doctors, experts say that the number of serious drug errors could be cut by as much as 50%. Only about 10% of this nation's hospitals have fully implemented such a system.
In its April article, the AARP quotes Rosemary Gibson, a senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a patient advocate group, as stating that families have few places to turn:
"The CEO of the hospital sends condolences. A letter to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations goes in a file. It's a crapshoot whether the health department or the state medical borard will look into their case."