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Blog , Health and Wellness

Medical Errors Kill More Americans Than Automobile Crashes

Posted on Friday, November 3, 2023
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by Outside Contributor
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28 Comments
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Key board with doctor stethoscope and clip board with Medical Errors on white background

Sponsored By: DrOwl

If you knew that an automobile accident was about to happen and you could avoid being involved, would you take action? Most Americans don’t know that in 2022, medical errors were responsible for approximately 250,000 deaths as compared to 42,000 people killed in car accidents.

Some Reasons These Deaths Occur Are:

  • Patients giving incomplete or incorrect medical information to physicians, nurses receiving incorrect orders, or patients receiving improper care/prescription instructions
  • Systematic communication challenges
  • Overworked or undertrained staff
  • Inadequate or inefficient policies and procedures
  • Technical failures
  • Computers, software, equipment, or medical devices aren’t working properly
  • Communication challenges between physician, nurse, or patient
  • Medical records are not available or accessible when making healthcare decisions, test results aren’t being relayed appropriately, or medical records aren’t following the patient when transferred or discharged

Although some of the circumstances on the list above cannot be avoided, there are many that can. Patients need to start being proactive and make sure they have done everything they can to help their healthcare provider make the best decisions.

Patients assume that medical professionals treating them rarely make missteps and often defer to them without asking questions. In today’s healthcare environment, physicians and nurses are overworked, stressed, and sometimes do make mistakes.

Were You Aware That Up To 70% Of Medical Records Can Contain Errors?

Your provider is making decisions about your diagnosis and treatment plans based on these records.  As you’ve likely experienced, healthcare is getting less and less personal. Long gone are the days of a close relationship with your physician as more and more patients are being rushed through the system every day. Doctors and nurses are overwhelmed and burned out, and the level of care is nowhere near what it used to be.

On average, patients get approximately 13 minutes of actual face-time with their provider in a typical 30-minute appointment. Often, the majority of that time is spent reconciling conditions and medications, leaving just a few minutes to address the current issue and receive a diagnosis.

A typical adult will have taken over 30 medications in their lifetime. Medical records can show all of these medications even though many have not been taken for years. Imagine a doctor or pharmacist trying to decipher all of this information in just a few minutes.

One Way To Help Reverse This Trend Is To Become Your Own Healthcare Advocate

Recent changes in federal regulations mandate that patients have the right to access their medical records using the healthcare app of their choice. It has never been easier to gather all of your medical information in one place.

AMAC and DrOwl have partnered to provide an app for AMAC members to securely access their records from their different providers, have a personal health search engine to better understand their health, and also receive coupons to save up to 80% on their medications.

The DrOwl app allows patients to connect to their different providers, from Medicare to the VA and thousands of others, and have them all in one convenient place. Patients receive their own customized experience so they can understand everything about their health. The app also allows users to share their information with caregivers, providers, spouses, and children. 

Armed with current, accurate information and the knowledge of what their health records say, patients can have the most efficient appointment possible and receive a higher level of care. It is crucial to understand exactly what conditions you have, as well as having current information concerning your medications at your fingertips.

Additionally, individuals can help advocate for their loved ones, such as a parent or child, who live far away. As we age, it’s important to have an advocate help make important decisions, especially as they relate to healthcare.  

Finally, one additional functionality that is extremely valuable for seniors is the ability to store important documents such as medical directives and power of attorney. You don’t need a power of attorney until you do. If you become incapacitated and do not have a loved one near you, important decisions could be made on your behalf without your consent.

The AMAC / DrOwl health app is free to use and always will be! The easiest way to get started is to go to our website on your phone and click the app button. Alternatively, you can visit the website on your computer and scan the QR code. We have customer service agents standing by to help with any questions you may have. You can also email us directly at [email protected]. We’re happy to help you get started on your wellness journey today!

DrOwl – Promoting health, wellness, and longevity for all Americans. Start living your best life today!

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David Millikan
David Millikan
10 months ago

Excellent article. This information is always hidden from the public. Just like FAR MORE people die from Medical errors and car accidents than people killed by a gun.
But you NEVER hear that from the FASCIST democrats or FAKE news.
Why? Because the TRUTH goes against their FAKE narrative so they can STEAL your Constitutional rights from you.
See how many democrats are in the medical professions back pocket. You will be amazed. You can start with Dictator Beijing bide and go from there.

Kat
Kat
10 months ago

20 years ago I had a wellness care check up. I was told that I had to start high blood pressure and cholesterol medications. I refused the treatment and my doctor informed me that I would die if I didn’t start taking the prescribed medications. I told the doctor that we all were going to die, just a matter of when. I rarely go to the doctor since then and try to eat right. I may die tomorrow but will never regret refusing those pharmaceuticals.

Sandra Lee
Sandra Lee
10 months ago

Try 9 minutes out of a 15 minute appt!! They’re too busy trying to make their first million by age 40. AND they do not listen! If you don’t fit in the box they’re too busy to listen.
Have very little good to say about the medical profession, especially the newest generation . Their egos get in the way most of the time and “how dare we question their decisions!!

Kaiju
Kaiju
10 months ago

I’ve been a licensed healthcare provider for 39 years. I cannot disagree with this article. We have a serious problem in healthcare, and the blame can go many directions. First of all, the third party payer system (insurance industry) has made it IMPOSSIBLE to be profitable in healthcare without seeing FAR TOO MANY patients. At the peak of my earnings (in 1999) I was seeing 16 patients a day and spent quality time with them, listening to their problems and working through the diagnostic problem, then educating them, then discussing treatment options to help them find the course they were most comfortable with. Today I make less than half the income (equal to what most of my patients who are teachers make) and must see about 50 patients a day. Not enough time to establish a trusting relationship with them, let alone work thoroughly through a COMPLETE diagnostic process. Time to hear more than one complaint or educate the patient??? NO!!! Only enough time to put myself and the patient at risk of error. Because we are paid so much less by the insurance industry for the services we perform, overhead is very high and our ability to attract the “best and the brightest” ancillary staffers, our efficiency is reduced. Patients today are walking in with internet-provided “self diagnoses” which we must take too much time to “un-do” before we can get to the real diagnosis, so the diagnostic process is being shorted.
I have read many of the reader responses and cannot disagree with the comments presented. We no longer have a health care system, we have an Insurance system and a Pharmacologic system. My patients are on more meds today then ever, yet they’re less healthy than ever. They are eating poorly, sleeping too little, WAY TOO CHRONICALLY STRESSED and are using to much alcohol and drugs. We throw meds at disease symptoms but we don’t do nearly enough to PREVENT disease. It’s a BROKEN system on the verge of collapse. And I think that’s what government and insurance companies want to see happen.
Just my humble opinion.

mgoode
mgoode
10 months ago

The medical establishment is broken. Look at the number of “healthcare professionals” who pushed the clot shot. They have no integrity. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. EVERY prescription drug, and the vast majority of over-the-counter drugs, is slow poison. But that is all that the “disease management” people know.
Consider: the same companies that manufactured the clot shot also make every drug out there. And you trust them with your health?!?
NO vaxxes. NO shots. NO drugs.

Rhonda
Rhonda
10 months ago

I have had my medical records hacked at 3 different medical offices in my area. (I received letters from the companies responsible for online security for these medical offices.) I was not using any type of app to view my records for any of these offices. But, I don’t think an app would make your records any safer, though.
I agree that the medical profession is broken, has been for decades, but I blame the government for that.

Michael
Michael
10 months ago

Then i think about miraculas healings performed by Jesus

Rik
Rik
10 months ago

I have learned to not trust doctors because I personally had an incident that could have killed me because of bad advice from a doctor. 8 years ago I had gone to a Hospital Emergency Room because of severe kidney stone pain and the attending physician told me: “you have an enlarged prostate but 90% of men get it but it’s not a big deal, you can live with it!” 15 months ago, I misjudged a turn and drove over a curb and got a flat tire. As I was outside the car viewing it a police car stopped and the officers realized that something was wrong with me. They questioned me if I had been drinking or had taken drugs and I of course replied no. They placed me in the back seat of the cruiser and the next thing I knew was that I had woken up in a hospital bed. I had experienced kidney failure caused by my enlarged prostate that caused my urine to backup and would have died if I had any clogged arteries which at my age most people would have. Especially since I wasn’t in great physical condition and overweight. In fact, the doctor was surprised that I hadn’t died! Thank God that I owned an alternative medical device called Bemer that keeps my circulation well clear and flowing freely because without it I would have died. After being hospitalized for 23 days I got myself discharged because I realized that I would probably die if I continued to stay there. I had to sign a waiver to not sue them before they would discharge me. I had lost 32 lbs in the 23 days! Best diet I have ever heard of! I am only alive because of my Bemer treatments that kept my arteries clear from being clogged! I thank God that I am still alive today!

gin
gin
10 months ago

This makes it sound like dr.s don’t make mistakes. In the news today was an item about a man who was to have an appendectomy, but had part of his colon mistakenly removed. The medical system has been taken over by pharmaceutical companies, and the desire to sell drugs rather than cure people. People need to take care of themselves more by a better diet and getting on their feet more. A good multi vitamin-mineral can’t hurt either.

Sydney
Sydney
10 months ago

The ‘ language’ issue in communication is HUGE. Absolutely not comfortable with struggling to understand or to communicate with a healthcare individual who has deficiencies in the English language. It’s dangerous. No- work on and remediate those language skills or don’t get involved in my healthcare.

KathyG
KathyG
9 months ago

I’ve ;been in healthcare over 40 years and work in a hospital where I see countless errors on a daily basis. There needs to be more accountability for sure. Unfortunately, there isn’t. At least in my hospital, correct and readable documentation is not a priority. I’ve always striven to make mine as clear and correct as possible. I don’t see that with my colleagues. I don’t know what the solution to this atrocity is.

Lauramerrone
Lauramerrone
10 months ago

I’ve taken maybe 3 meds in the last 20 years… I hardly ever go to the doctor except for a few checkups a year. I’m trying to stay healthy. But it is good to know about this resource in case some day I need it… Hopefully never…

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
10 months ago

Can we do these to cut errors:
Automate basic forms alone
Merge forms
Merge treatments, care
Streamline Medicare system

Jimbo
Jimbo
10 months ago

Guess we need to bann medical errors like we are trying to bann other methods of death.

legally present
legally present
10 months ago

OR sending you home from the ER with a higher temp. than when you were admitted. They ended up ruining his health and he passed.

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
10 months ago

My dad had skin discoloration in his feet which later turned into circulatory problems and amputation. The VA gave him foot cream. Later, when he was hospitalized, along with that which he was there for, he contracted an MSRE from a “contaminated dialysis IV site” [from his medical records]. All these things doctors are writing down are accessible in Records; just request copies!

Linda
Linda
10 months ago

Very interesting and useful thanks very much..we learn from mistakes..medical field bury their mistakes

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
10 months ago

Misdiagnosis put him there but you left out the number of MSRA deaths which my dad died from a bacteria that got into his bloodstream because of a contaminated dialysis injection site.

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