Category Archives: medical errors

Myth 15. Nationalized medicine will reduce medical errors, improve care, and save lives.

Based on 173 deaths in the Harvard Medical Practice study, and extrapolating to the entire U.S. population, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has been claiming for almost a decade that as many as 98,000 Americans are killed by medical errors … Continue reading

Posted in health care reform, medical errors, mythbusters | 4 Comments

“Never events” to be eliminated-by checklists and nonpayment

Hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) should never happen, if only hospital workers practiced rigorous hygiene, writes former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey. In fact, “for most infections, the only acceptable rate is zero.” Litigation over such infections, she predicts, … Continue reading

Posted in medical errors | Tagged | 6 Comments