On 2007 02 16 2:46 AM, "Bill Hooper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 2007 Feb 14 , at 7:35 PM, Pat Naughtin wrote: > >> I believe that about 10 000 babies die each year from medical errors that are >> based on this conversion practice. <converting metric data in hospitals back >> into Olde English units to compare with "Grandma's babies"> > > That would be a horrifying statistic if true. > > Do you have any data to support that claim, or is it just "I believe that > ..."? > > Bill Hooper > 75 kg body mass* > Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA > > Dear Bill,
I agree that this is 'a horrifying statistic'. My figure is based on a series of newspaper reports that was published here in Australia about two years ago. At the time I thought that it was a misprint of some kind, but when I checked with various internet sources such as: http://rfid.idtechex.com/documents/en/sla.asp?documentid=172 where I found things like: In the US, up to 98,000 people die due to preventable medical errors, a figure that has doubled in a few years. This put the Australian figure into some sort of international perspective. The issue of medical errors is not just happening to new born babies. It is a widespread problem that, I believe, is often dependent on the faulty measurement policies of 'health care professionals'. In Australia, we have no clear measurement policies for health care. Instead we have had a series of scare generated inquiries and research studies that seem to always generate similar results coupled with old doctors who insist on the old methods they have always used. As we say here measurement in medicine is a dog's breakfast! Just this morning, I read in the Melbourne newspaper, 'The Age', that a government attempt to combine all of the various registration boards ('more than 90') has been vetoed by the doctor's lobby. Many errors arise out of demarcation disputes so this would be a worthwhile reform, in my opinion. See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_ui ds=14660523 for another Australian example and resources.bmj.com/files/talks/medicalerror.ppt for another from an international perspective. As you know this data is very difficult to collect as the medical community seems to conduct a 'culture of silence' with respect to errors. For this reason my estimated figure on the deaths of babies is based on various intermittent newspaper reports here in Australia and comparisons with similar data from the UK and the USA. In the USA, you might refer to http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/500_err.html#Most or to http://www.ahrq.gov/research/errors.htm as starting points. As you look at any figures you can find to describe medical errors, keep in mind that medical errors are most likely to be grossly under-reported. The first reaction of many health care workers is to cover up their mistakes if they can. I think that it's probably reasonable to double all figures in the likelihood that your estimates will still be too low. Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216 Geelong, Australia 61 3 5241 2008 Pat Naughtin is manager of http://www.metricationmatters.com an internet website that focuses on the many issues, methods and processes that individuals, groups, companies, and nations use when upgrading to the metric system. Contact Pat Naughtin at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
