Harvard School of Public Health: 43 Million Harmed by Medical Errors Each Year
A recent study conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that 43 million people worldwide are harmed by medical mistakes each year.
“We find that millions of people around the world are hurt, disabled, and sometimes even die as a result of medical errors,” lead author Ashish Jha, professor of health policy and management at HSPH, stated in a press release. The most prevalent type of injury is caused by medication errors such as administering the wrong medicine to the wrong patient. Other common medical errors include catheter issues, blood clots, and hospital acquired pneumonia. According to Medical Daily, “The authors noted there are many other types of adverse events not even touched upon in this study—such as the use of infected needles, tainted blood products, or counterfeit drugs—that would likely raise the estimates substantially. Nevertheless the picture, even without these added events, is bleak enough.”
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