Beware of medical care! You could end up with the wrong leg amputated, missing finggers, or AIDS or even permanently paralysed. Worse, you could end up instantly dead!
All these happen without you even knowing that the causes were medical errors because of coverups or your ignorance. It has estimated that for every case of medical error reported, there are 10 cases that ro unreported.
Medical errors - eg; use of the wrong drugs, surgery on the wrong body part or the wrong patient, errors in blood transfusions and improper insertion of medical instruments such as catheters or feeding tubes - have reached crisis proportions in many countries today.
And they are not just confined to hospitals. Doctor's offices, clinics. outpation surgical centres, pharmacies, nursing homes and other medical institutional settings can all pose similar risks.
In 2 studies ( U.S & Australian ), it was found that 8-9% of medical errors occured in a doctor's office, 2-3% at home and 1-2% in nursing homes.
And the problem is not just with doctors. Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and pharmacist can all goof up, no matter how qualified they are.
A recent report by the U.S Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine estimated that between 2.9 and 3,7 of hospitalisations involve medical errors. Between 8.8 and 13.6% of these adverse incidents lead to death. The percentage may seem small, but the total figures are staggering. Here's a brief glimpse of current statistics in the U.S and elsewhere around the world:
IN THE US, medical errors cause 44,000 - 98,000 unnecessary deaths each year and 1,000,000 excess injuries - striking down more people than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.
All these happen without you even knowing that the causes were medical errors because of coverups or your ignorance. It has estimated that for every case of medical error reported, there are 10 cases that ro unreported.
Medical errors - eg; use of the wrong drugs, surgery on the wrong body part or the wrong patient, errors in blood transfusions and improper insertion of medical instruments such as catheters or feeding tubes - have reached crisis proportions in many countries today.
And they are not just confined to hospitals. Doctor's offices, clinics. outpation surgical centres, pharmacies, nursing homes and other medical institutional settings can all pose similar risks.
In 2 studies ( U.S & Australian ), it was found that 8-9% of medical errors occured in a doctor's office, 2-3% at home and 1-2% in nursing homes.
And the problem is not just with doctors. Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and pharmacist can all goof up, no matter how qualified they are.
A recent report by the U.S Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine estimated that between 2.9 and 3,7 of hospitalisations involve medical errors. Between 8.8 and 13.6% of these adverse incidents lead to death. The percentage may seem small, but the total figures are staggering. Here's a brief glimpse of current statistics in the U.S and elsewhere around the world:
IN THE US, medical errors cause 44,000 - 98,000 unnecessary deaths each year and 1,000,000 excess injuries - striking down more people than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.
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