Medical errorsWhich 10,000 babies die a year due to medical errors.
Since Pat wrote it, I will start with Australia. Population = 20,000,000.
Assuming that on average people make the biblical three score and ten years
implies that there are just under 300,000 births a year. If 10,000 babies die
a year due to medical errors, this means that one baby in 30 in Australia dies
due to medical errors.
If Pat was writing about the USA (population 300,000,000), then, using the same
logic, one baby in 450 would die per year due to medical errors.
----- Original Message -----
From: Pat Naughtin
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 7:44 PM
Subject: [USMA:37973] Medical errors
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_uids=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]
