Re: Medical injuries kill 32,000 annually

[Jeff]

What the study does not say is whether the "injuries" are avoidable. For
example, a certain number of incisions will open up again. The body does not
heal perfectly all the time. Whether this is an avoidable or unavoidable. Or
if this is a result of bad medical care. Likewise, postoperative infections
will happen. The body is opened up, and it is impossible to keep every
bacterium out of the body. Plus, the bacteria can come from intestines if
they are opened up or pus, e.g., a ruptured appendix.

So these "injuries" are not necessarily something that is avoidable or a
sign of poor medical treatment. Patients who have very poor hearts who
undergo open heart surgery are going to suffer risks related to the stress
of surgery on their hearts. And some of these are going to come up as
"injuries."

The fact of the matter is that medical care is risk free. In benefiting many
patients, some patients are going to have negative effects. When you treat
infections with antibiotics, some people are going to serious reactions. The
question is always: Is the risk and cost of the treatment higher the risk
and costs of not getting treated?

The fact that the risks show up as "injuries" in this study does not mean
that medicine is doing anything wrong or that there are avoidable things
happening. That is not in the scope of this study.

Jeff

[rkondracki]

> The fact of the matter is that medical care is risk free. In benefiting
many
> patients, some patients are going to have negative effects. When you treat
> infections with antibiotics, some people are going to serious reactions.
The
> question is always: Is the risk and cost of the treatment higher the risk
> and costs of not getting treated?


I can only hope you meant to say that medical care is NOT risk free. I am a
firm believer in the medical profession...but even a doctor will tell a
patient that there are risks involved in even a simple procedure. People die
every day during the most common procedures...which doesn't even address the
more complicated surgeries where there could be only a slight chance of
success. So, quite clearly, there are risks involved with any medical
procedure. As you stated, it is up to each individual to weigh these
risks...

Richard Kondracki