Is the US Really the Best In The World?
September 2, 2010 By: Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH
Definition of iatrogenic : induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/iatrogenic
This article documents the reality of the healthcare system in the US currently. It provides data supporting the claim, the medical practice and protocols for “in hospital” care in the US is the third leading cause of death by iatrogenesis (medical errors).
These total to 225000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes. Three caveats should be noted. First, most of the data are derived from studies in hospitalized patients. Second, these estimates are for deaths only and do not include ad-verse effects that are associated with disability or discomfort. Third, the estimates of death due to error are lower than those in the IOM report.1 If the higher estimates are used, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes would range from 230000 to 284000. In any case, 225000 deaths per year constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United States, after deaths from heart disease and cancer. (emphasis added) Read the article here.
According to this publication, 230,000 to 280,000 people die each year due to iatrogenic causes, that is preventable medical errors. This is equivalent to (685) preventable in hospital deaths per day annually.