Nesi's joke

[Commercialfarmer]

Didn't want to get the joke thread all off on a tangent. But it was interesting to me. I don't think Nesi's statistics are overly inflated. There's much to be considered. But I believe that this comparison demonstrates the irrational mental state and easy sway our population has allowed itself to deteriorate to.

TB, I was wondering as well about legitimate statistics, so I went to some published journals. The statistics look pretty spot on.

This is an older but often cited article. If you scroll down, the author extrapolated an estimated 180,000 people per year (written in 1994) dying of health care related causes (iatrogenic).

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... eid=384554

The one below is from 2004, and involves just one very specific area of practice.

OBJECTIVE:

To develop a preliminary classification system for errors in otolaryngology.
METHODS:

A retrospective, anonymous survey was distributed to 2,500 members of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). Respondents were asked whether an error had occurred in their practice in the last 6 months, and if so, to describe the error, its consequences, and any corrective action taken.
RESULTS:

There were 466 (18.6%) responses. Two hundred ten (45% of respondents) otolaryngologists reported 216 errors. A classification system for errors in otolaryngology was developed. Errors were classified as related to history and physical (1.4%), differential or final diagnosis (1.4%), testing (10.4%), surgical planning (9.9%), wrong-site surgery (6.1%), anesthesia-related (3.3%), wrong drug/dilution on the surgical field (3.8%), technical (19.3%), retained foreign body (0.9%), equipment-related (9.4%), postoperative care (8.5%), medical management (13.7%), nursing/ancillary (0.5%), administrative (6.6%), communication (3.8%), and miscellaneous (0.9%). There were 78 cases of major morbidity and 9 deaths. If these data are representative, there may be more than 2,600 episodes of major morbidity and more than 165 deaths related to medical error in otolaryngology patients annually.
CONCLUSIONS:

Human error in otolaryngology occurs in all practice components, including diagnostic, treatment, surgical, communication, and administrative. Types of errors reported by otolaryngologists differ from those reported by other specialists. Error classification systems may need to reflect each specialty's realm of practice. Errors in otolaryngology cause appreciable morbidity and mortality. Quantitative study of errors and the development of targeted prevention and amelioration strategies should be a high priority.

To make use of this, there are 2500 practitioners with an extrapolated estimate of 165 deaths in otolaryngology practice per year. That is an estimated 0.066 deaths per practitioner/per year. Add more complicated areas of medicine, and you can't help but think that the 0.17 mark isn't that far off. Even conservatively, it is much higher than the statistical likelihood of a gun owner causing death by owning a firearm.

 

[HDRider]

Thanks CF for verifying. Thanks Nesi for posting. I am going to use that.

 

[lavacarancher]

CF, I posted one of these fact sheets comparing gun deaths in the US to those who have died as a result of an automobile accident. The conclusion is that gun deaths are down in the minutia in this comparison.

 

[Deepsouth]

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Thank you Spock, that will be all.

 

[TexasBred]

TB, I was wondering as well about legitimate statistics, so I went to some published journals. The statistics look pretty spot on.

This is an older but often cited article. If you scroll down, the author extrapolated an estimated 180,000 people per year (written in 1994) dying of health care related causes (iatrogenic).

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... eid=384554

The one below is from 2004, and involves just one very specific area of practice.

CF probably a bit too early to get accurate statistics but I was wondering if there was any correlation between death numbers and type of insurance, ie: private insurance, Obamacare, Medicaid, etc. ;-)

 

[Bestoutwest]

CF probably a bit too early to get accurate statistics but I was wondering if there was any correlation between death numbers and type of insurance, ie: private insurance, Obamacare, Medicaid, etc. ;-)

If I had to guess I would say that the uninsured die more often (because it would include the homeless) followed by those on Medicare, then Medicaid and finally private insurance. This is based soley on the populations I deal with at work. Generally your Medicare crowd is either the retired or on disability folks, with some disability being on medicaid as well. They are your highest risk insured population. Interestingly, I heard last week that 5% of the insured population accounts for 50% of all money spent.

What you really have to worry about when going into the hospital is not the surgeon, but rather nosocomial infections. Those are hospital acquired infections such as pneumonia, C-Diff, MRSA, etc.

 

[Nesikep]

Some of the language used here is a little beyond me, but it is interesting that the rate is that high

 

[WalnutCrest]

I can absolutely see that 50% of the money spent in health care is on 5% of the patients.