Medical Errors Destroy Quality of Life and May Result in Death

It is far too common that I see individuals who have received poor medical care. In fact, I would even go as far as to call it medical indifference because that is what patients are receiving. Far too often, when we head to the clinic or hospital to get medical advice and support for what ails us, we do not get our problem solved. How is this possible in
2018?

There are a variety of reasons, but here are some that come to mind:

Healthcare systems run by Wall Street firms
Incompetent management
Corporatization
Systemic Inefficiency
Lack of accountability by physicians and other providers
Apathy

In 2016, Johns Hopkins put out a study that suggested that medical errors may be the third leading cause of death just behind cancer and heart disease! They estimate the rates of death at 250,000 people per year! This beats out chronic respiratory disease at 150,000. The Center for Disease Control does not include medical errors as a cause of death.

There are some simple things that we can do about it. First, it is important to have a medical provider that you can trust. If you’re uncomfortable with your provider or feel that he or she doesn’t care about you then follow your gut and find a new provider. It is important to find that provider before you are sick and in need of assistance so start looking now. Second, get many medical opinions. After all, you are the one who pays the bill and lives (or dies) with the consequences when Dr. Dolittle does a less than stellar job. Lastly, we can support single payer healthcare reform because without it even the best providers are weakened in a system in which care is dictated by private insurance companies.