The ongoing Ebola scare in the United States has led to calls for broad travel bans, the appointment of an "Ebola Czar" from President Obama's administration, and a general feeling that our government at all levels should be doing everything in their collective power to stop a virus that has infected a few Americans. Perhaps only time will tell whether this response was justified or an overreaction, but one thing is for certain, there is another healthcare epidemic going on in our country that we hear very little about. To the extent the media reports on it at all, those reports advocate for less safety, not more. This healthcare epidemic results in at least 210,000 to 400,000 deaths per year, with events of serious harm being perhaps 10 or 20 times higher than that. Experts who have studied that epidemic have concluded that these deaths and injuries are "preventable," but there is no public outcry. What is this healthcare epidemic? Medical malpractice.
This blog has reported on these daunting statistics before. The September 2013 "Journal of Patient Safety" took a look at how many Americans die each year from preventable medical errors. Previous estimates pegged the number at up to 98,000 based on data from 1984. The authors of the 2013 article updated the data and concluded that the 98,000 number severely underestimated the scope of the problem. In fact, those authors concluded that the "lower limit" of annual deaths from preventable medical errors was 210,000 with an actual estimate of "more than 400,000 per year." The authors concluded as follows: "The epidemic of patient harm is hospitals must be taken more seriously if it is to be curtailed."
Imagine if Ebola was killing Americans at a rate of "more than 400,000 per year." We would obviously commit whatever resources were necessary to completely and permanently stop that disaster. The public outcry would be immense. Those responsible for the catastrophe would be held accountable without talk of "capping" or limiting that accountability. There would be no pervasive victim blaming like we see for victims of medical malpractice.
We should take Ebola seriously, but that shouldn't stop us from recognizing another ongoing healthcare catastrophe in our country.
;)
