The Third Leading Cause of Death in America: Medical Errors, Part 1

“To Err is Human” is the title of a soon-to-be-released documentary by writer/director/producer Mike Eisenberg. Medical mistakes are estimated to cause as many as 440,000 avoidable deaths in the U.S. each year—making them the #3 leading cause of death, trailing heart disease and cancer. How do these errors arise? How can they be prevented? Why is medicine lagging behind the aviation and nuclear industries in addressing avoidable errors? What lessons can be learned from industries that have successfully undertaken accident prevention programs? How can something as simple as routine hand washing by medical personnel reduce unnecessary infections? Why is the current malpractice system an imperfect deterrent to mistakes? Why should doctors be schooled in admitting errors? What role can patients and their advocates play in curbing this epidemic? How can transparency help eliminate errors? Can technology be harnessed to pre-empt procedural lapses? Click HERE for part 2.