Those who have taken issue with studies like the one published in the BMJ in May 2016 that found medical errors to be the third leading cause of death in the U.S. have argued directly attributing errors to death is problematic because of the multiple factors like comorbidities that can influence outcomes. Other critics have argued patient lifestyle as a primary contributor to death. Also, some have argued a patient’s close proximity to death prior to experiencing an error lessens the error’s role in said death.
“Even if the unintended event only shortens life by a few days, it does not mitigate the severity of the event,” argue the perspective article’s authors.
Regarding the data featured in studies like the one published in the BMJ, Kevin T. Kavanagh, MD, of the patient advocacy group Health Watch USA, said, “As a whole, concerns with data are unfounded since the data tend to underestimate, not overestimate, the number of preventable deaths. In addition, the context of the patient is irrelevant and must be dissociated from medical error.”
While Dr. Kavanagh and his fellow authors acknowledge more complete data is needed to fully understand the role of medical errors in patient death, the onus of finding better data should be placed on the healthcare industry itself, not on consumers.
Regardless of the number, healthcare organizations need to implement safety standards to make medical errors a thing of the past, the authors argue.
“In what other industry would such a record be tolerated, let alone defended?” Dr. Kavanagh and his colleagues ask in the article. “Would the airline industry and public ever tolerate even a single preventable airline crash? We can and must do better.”
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