Win, Place and No Show
Jun
21
Most people can rank the top two leading causes of death in the United States — cancer and heart disease. Now let’s take a quiz and try to come up with number three. Here are your options:
- Respiratory disease;
- Accidents;
- Stroke;
- Alzheimer’s.
Wrong! But it was a trick question!
According to findings published in BMJ and widely reported in Medscape and The Washington Post, the “show” bet for third place is medical error, cashing out at over a quarter million deaths annually.
Medical errors can be:
- Unintended acts (either commission or omission);
- Acts that don’t achieve intended outcomes;
- Errors in execution;
- Errors in planning;
- Deviation from the process of care.
If you have to go into the hospital or have plans for a significant diagnostic or invasive procedure, hopefully (like me) you have an experienced nurse in the family.
If not, who is your advocate? Who is watching the delivery of your care?
Call us. We can do better.
William Faris, JD
Chief Executive Officer
502-495-5040
william.faris@omca.biz
www.omca.biz
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