The Modern Physician: A Glorified Applied Pharmacologist?

I snapped this picture on the way to the grocery store the other day, and was struck by how perfectly the ‘thousand words’ it spoke matched up with my opinion on what people should do if ever they are tempted to visit a pharmacy for anything other than necessary items, such as a nail file or diapers, namely: STOP!

Why am I so repugnant to the concept of frequenting these dispensary institutions? The fact that they not only sell cigarettes, but feature them at the front counter, forcing those who may actually need a pill or two to hobble all the way to the back to fetch them, figures somewhere into my sentiment.  The fact that they are proliferating like metastatic nodules in any area with a population sufficiently sick and/or over-medicated enough to support one (and sometimes two!) on each and every block, has something to do with the way I feel as well.

But are the pharmacies really to blame? They largely fill orders placed by…

The Modern Day Physician: A Glorified, Applied Pharmacologist

Ok, so we have billions of pounds of synthetic chemicals consumed every year as patented drugs, with an army of degreed, licensed and doctored foot soldiers prescribing them recklessly under the once great banner of “medicine,” in an ongoing war against the body’s virtually infinite capability to generate symptoms, most of which are – ironically – attempts to heal from acute or chronic exposure to synthetic chemicals.

This situation didn’t happen overnight, mind you. Over 250 years ago, Voltaire penned these words, which still ring so true today:

Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing. — Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire (1760)

Really, the modern day physician has transmogrified into a technician of the body-as-machine (a 500 year old, dead “Cartesian” concept, mind you), and is practicing what can best be described as a glorified form of applied pharmacology.

While administering xenobiotic chemicals to people is a valid discipline, with life-saving potential in extreme cases where a poison is needed to whack an over-stimulated system back away from the edge of self-destruction (which is why mercury and lead were used as medicines in ancient times, as well), applied pharmacology is not medicine, which is to say a discipline concerned with the healing of the body, or better yet, facilitating bodily self-healing; nor is the doctor any longer an educator, rather, more a well-paid appendage of the global fine chemicals, biologics and pharmaceuticals industries, directing the secretion of their product in such a way as to maximize profit, limit liability, and suppress the patient symptoms without (hopefully) killing them in the process.

So, where does that leave us? The amorphous, unlicensed, non-expert, mass of lay-persons, who by virtue of bodily incarnation will at some point or another need to address and/or resolve a symptom of disease, but who do not have the wherewithal, or even a legal right to make treatment decisions for themselves, (e.g. medical marijuana) or their loved ones (e.g. mandatory vaccines & chemotherapy).

The Physician As The Priest of the Body

Most of us, either from the moment of birth (usually in a hospital, and not the ideal way: at home with a midwife), or from infanthood onward, are enculturated to perceive the medical doctor as the “priest of the body,” solely capable and legally empowered to determine the course of life and death, both in times of health and mortal illness. Indeed, the original meaning of the word doctor comes from “Church father” (medieval French) or “religious teacher” (Latin), and still today, they elicit an unquestioning faith in their authority that defies reason, especially considering how many patients they kill from correctly prescribed medicine each year — 106,000 a year, according to a 1998 meta-analysis published in JAMA.

The modern-day drug-based medical dictatorship and its overarching power structure has a cult-like hold on those who take its two most lauded sacraments: the pharmakeia (Greek word behind pharmaceutical meaning “pill, potion, charm, sorcery, sacrifice, poison”), and ritual vaccinations.

I believe the best way to break the spell is by using the holy grail of the conventional medical model itself, namely: the peer-reviewed, published “scientific evidence,” and particularly those studies which support natural approaches to disease prevention and treatment; and by using that information, both to inform our choices, as well as defend them when they are under intellectual or regulatory assault., we can continue to choose foods, spices, herbs, fresh air, exercise, good company, laughter, etc. as our health care without the specter of scientism or medical monotheism forcing us into its drug- and injection-based model of compulsory treatment.

Utilize The Research You’ve Already Paid For

GreenMedInfo.com exists primarily in order to index, aggregate and disseminate the positive findings on natural – farm-acological – substances that can be found within the ocean of research produced by the biomedical research and publishing industries, whose primary funding sources are Big Pharma, and its handmaiden, world governments, who are increasingly co-opted by billions of dollars of lobbying money, and who are now populated by an army of their former executives, business employees and partners.

World governments, in fact, have even underwritten the risks associated with the countless vaccine-associated injuries that occur every year by virtually eliminating the liabilities of the manufacturers, and those public and private organizations that aggressively promote their use; this, despite the glaring lack of evidence for their purported effectiveness. Private insurers know the epidemic of vaccine-associated injuries is so extensive (e.g. autism) that they stand to lose everything for betting on that horse.

So, considering that YOU have paid for the research, both through government taxation, and the exorbitantly high drug mark-ups (cancer drugs may be as high as 500,000% from cost) that increasingly defraud the public both of their health and their wealth, it is only fitting that you take ownership of it.  In the mad rush to find “lead compounds” from natural sources in order to develop patented, synthetic analogues, Big Pharma has generated – inadvertently – a mountain of evidence supporting the value, if not also the superiority of natural substances vis-à-vis their would-be drug equivalents.

Take our cancer research page, as an example. We have indexed 2600 studies straight from the public domain (NLM’s Medline) on the anti-cancer activity of over 600 natural substances. Remarkably, some of these have potent activity against drug and multi-drug resistant cancers and cancer stem-cells, which are at the root of why modern chemotherapy and radiation treatments not only fail but cause greater malignancy post-treatment.

Were any of these compounds patentable, they would likely have received attention, and some the requisite 800+ million dollars of funding needed to produce the multi-phased human clinical trials the FDA requires before considering drug approval. The fact that the MONEY, and not the intrinsic potential of  a substance to heal, determines whether it will be brought to market, that is, be used to alleviate the suffering of the sick, is a disturbing fact.

Ultimately, it is to our gardens, our spice racks and local markets that we must go to obtain, maintain and sustain our health. We hope that the 19,000 study abstracts on our site, which are available for everyone to view in their entirety, will encourage people to see that farmaceuticals and not (p)harmaceuticals are the future of medicine, if there is to be a future to medicine. Please share the research housed on GreenMedInfo.com with others in need, so our work will not have been performed in vain. Also, if you have not already, please take a look at our turmeric research below for a better understanding of what our project is all about…

© April 1, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post The Modern Physician: A Glorified Applied Pharmacologist? appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Humanity’s WIPEOUT Foreshadowed? World Health Chief: Global Pandemic Imminent

According to a World Health Organization doctor, a global pandemic is imminent, and no one will be prepared for it when it hits. Dr. Tedros Adhanom, director-general for WHO, has said that the next outbreak that will hit us will be a “terrible” one, causing a large death all over the world.

“Humanity is more vulnerable in the face of epidemics because we are much more connected and we travel around much more quickly than before,” said WHO specialist in infectious diseases Dr. Sylvie Brand. “We know that it is coming, but we have no way of stopping it,” said Brand. According to Dr. Tedros, the flu is extremely dangerous to everyone living on the planet. This fear was also promoted by experts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month.

The claims came exactly 100 years after the 1918 Spanish flu that claimed 50 million lives and killed three times as many people as World War I. A mutated strain is the most likely contender to wipe out millions because it can join together with other strains to become deadlier.

“This is not some future nightmare scenario. A devastating epidemic could start in any country at any time and kill millions of people because we are still not prepared. The world remains vulnerable. We do not know where and when the next global pandemic will occur, but we know it will take a terrible toll both on human life and on the economy,” said Dr. Tedros.

“Hidden underneath this fear-mongering message of a global pandemic is a far more sinister W.H.O. agenda,” warns Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, publisher of Medicine.news. “The real agenda is a global push for blind, fear-based acceptance of unsafe, unproven vaccines that will be rolled out alongside the next global pandemic,” Adams warns. “Fear circumvents rational thinking, which is why the vaccine-pharma cartels routinely turn to irrational fear propaganda to demand absolute and unquestioning acceptance of risky medical interventions that should always be scrutinized for safety and efficacy.” –Natural News

Dr. Tedros’ comments come on the heels of the plague outbreak in Madagascar, which was the most recent epidemic to receive international aid attention amid fears it would spread. More than 200 people were killed during the outbreak that ravaged the island over the winter, which prompted 10 nearby African countries to be placed on high alert.

 

Good Medicine: Do As Much Nothing As Possible

”The delivery of good medical care is to do as much nothing as possible”

~ Samuel Shem, The House of God

Medicine is undergoing an existential crisis today. Its core value proposition – to help and not hurt — is failing to manifest. Patients are suffering. Doctors are suffering. The only exuberant party on the battlefield against disease is the pharmaceutical industry. An industry whose annual causalities far exceed the death total from our two decade long involvement in the Vietnam war.

The entire system is on the precipice of a collapse, if not for economic reasons alone, then certainly for ethical and intellectual ones. The irony is that the system has become so ineffective and dangerous that avoiding medical treatment (excluding perhaps emergency care) has become one of if not the best healthcare strategy you can implement to protect your health and well-being.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the realm of cancer. Over the past few decades, billions have been spent on screening asymptomatic populations to “prevent cancer,” with the result that millions have been assigned with questionable diagnoses (e.g.,”early stage-” or “stage zero-cancers”) and then shepherded into chemo, radiation and surgery treatments as if watchful waiting, or better yet, making significant nutritional and lifestyle modifications, would be a suicidal approach vis-à-vis the inexorability and presumed lethality of genetically-determined cancer.

We needn’t detail the misery this approach has produced, but suffice it to say that despite the industry’s claims of thousands of “lives saved” from the detection of “early cancers,” breast and prostate cancer specific mortality has at best stayed the same, and may have actually increased in some cases. In light of the fact that the financial costs of misapplied treatment in some cases is so high that the uninsured, their families, and society as a whole, face bankruptcy, the situation is dire indeed.

Even after the cat was let out of the bag in 2013, and a National Cancer Institute commissioned expert panel concluded that labeling screening detected lesions known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and high-grade intraepithelial neoplastic hyperplasia (HG-PIN) (colloquially labeled as “breast cancer” and “prostate cancer,” respectively) as carcinomas (“cancer”) is no longer justified. Instead they opted for redefining what were previously considered potentially lethal cancers as “benign or indolent lesions of epithelial origin.” Yet, you hear virtually no mention of this change anywhere. Tens of thousands are still being diagnosed with the same “cancers” and being cut, poisoned and burned, without informed consent.

The lack of acknowledgment and discussion about these tremendous diagnostic “errors” is less surprising when you consider that about 1.3 million U.S. women were wrongly treated for breast cancer in the past 30 years, with prostate and lung cancer representing two additional icebergs upon which the Titanic cancer industry is presently running itself aground upon, regardless of whether the medical establishment will accept responsibility. Ignoring the truth that millions suffered needlessly, it would seem, is less painful than admitting wrong, and dealing with the psychological and financial fallout that inevitably follows. But is it possible to stem the tide much longer against the inevitable transformations brewing?

If you check the pubmed.gov statistics, interest in “overtreatment” and “overdiagnosis” has grown exponentially from only a few decades ago, when the terms were rarely mentioned. A new editorial, titled,  “It Is Overtreatment, Not Overdiagnosis,” points out the real issue behind the epidemic of cancer overdiagnoses:

The most widely accepted definition of ”overdiagnosis” is ”diagnosing a person without symptoms with a disease that will (ultimately) never cause symptoms or death during the person’s lifetime” (2). It should not be confused with misdiagnosis or false-positive findings, which are completely different entities and outside the scope of this commentary. As the generally accepted definition encapsulates downstream effects (ie, ”would otherwise not go on to cause symptoms or death”, the real issue lies with ”overtreatment” of these accurate diagnoses rather than overdiagnosis itself.

Overtreament does not happen in a vacuum. The very industries that produce the treatments also create and supports the “awareness campaigns” that not only use fear to corral the population into screening, but also “pinkwash” away their true causes, i.e. breast cancer awareness month talks about needing a cure but not the causes right under our noses (i.e. carcinogens). Therefore, the more diagnoses that are generated, the more treatments will be “recommended,” resulting in greater revenue and profit – an economic growth model that itself can only be described as a malignant process at least as violent, if not more, than the disease it is claiming to treat and manage.

The editorial concluded:

“The effects of treating inconsequential lesions, rather than their diagnosis per se, result in increased morbidity and cost without added benefit. Society as a whole should strive to treat individuals who should be treated and not those who would not benefit. The 13th law of Shem, true in 1978, remains true today.”

Essentially, modern medicine has become our most Orwellian institution, with “detecting cancer early” the biomedical equivalent of the Thought Police detecting crime before it happens. The prognosticating itself,  is a highly toxic process (nocebo: e.g., “You have cancer and 6 months to live.”) that can contribute to evoking cancer-promoting physiological reactions, as well as inflicting real psychospiritual wounds that have been determined to dramatically increase the risk of heart-related deaths and suicides. Medicine has also adopted the metaphorics of another powerful global force: the military industrial complex, with the cancer “prevention” being equated to “striking first,” eerily similar to the Bush doctrine of preemptive war to secure peace. Here, the precautionary principle is co-opted and inverted from its true meaning. Instead of “doing no harm,” unnecessary medical intervention is considered the only non-violent solution even when the collateral damage is so great that the patient often dies from the violence of “treatment” with weapons-of-mass-destruction grade radioisotopes and chemicals and not the condition.

We need to completely rethink medicine’s role in healing. What happens when we return to the fundamentals of an entity – the human, soul and body together — whose self-healing capabilities are so powerful that even the suggestion through sugar pill or kind word of a health practitioner that a disease can attenuate or disappear actually causes significant improvement? What if given the right conditions – clean air, water, food and a healthy environment, physically and emotionally – the conditions for disease were suddenly removed, and replaced with an opposite environs promoting health? If medicine makes it through the birth process of its own existential crises, these principles will invoke an entirely new medical model where the placebo effect is not to be “controlled for,” but liberated and expanded by educating the patient to the fact that they can and do heal themselves, mainly by avoiding medical treatment and doing the right amount of nothing.

© January 30, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

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People Are ‘Dying In Hospital Corridors’ Under Britain’s Socialized Healthcare System

There’s new outrage overseas, as people are literally dying in the corridors of hospitals because of Britain’s overrun socialized medicine scam. In case Venezuela didn’t do enough to prove that socialism is a deadly joke on humanity, Britain’s healthcare system should be the last nail in its coffin.

The patients are dying in hospital corridors as safety is jeopardized by intolerable conditions say doctors in Britain, according to the BBC last week.  More details continue to emerge surrounding the newest outrages which have sprung up from Britain’s crisis-beset healthcare system. This most recent revelation came as a result of an open letter sent to the Prime Minister by 68 senior doctors, offering details of the inhuman conditions which have become common in the socialized National Health Service’s hospitals.

The letter, which collected statistics from NHS hospitals in England and Wales, found that in December alone over 300,000 patients were made to wait in emergency rooms for more than four hours before being seen. Thousands more suffered long waits in ambulances before even being allowed into the emergency room. But the revelation of horrors was just beginning. The letter further noted that it had become “routine” for patients to be left on gurneys in corridors for as long as 12 hours before being offered proper beds, with many of them eventually being put into makeshift wards hastily constructed in side-rooms. In addition, it was revealed that around 120 patients per day are being attended to in corridors and waiting rooms, with many being made to undergo humiliating treatments in the public areas of hospitals, and some even dying prematurely as a result. One patient reported having gone to the emergency room with a gynecological problem which had left her in severe pain and bleeding, a lack of treatment rooms led hospital staff to examine her in a busy corridor, in full view of other patients. “There was no dignity. It was degrading,” she said. “I couldn’t fault the staff, there was nothing they could do. It was chaos.”

As the NHS entered the first week of 2018, over 97% of its trusts in England were reporting levels of overcrowding so severe as to be “unsafe.” For those who champion socialism, it’s tempting to believe that these extreme cases must be a rare occurrence, but the statistical facts prove otherwise. Horror stories have become increasingly the norm for any socialized healthcare system, just as under socialism in general, poverty becomes the norm.

it doesn’t look like this socialized system will ever work as the horrifying reality gets worse. Many insist that by pumping more taxpayer money into it, the state-run healthcare system somehow magically become a utopia.  Almost as predictable as the regular emergence of new stories of this kind is the equally unwavering refusal of British commentators to consider that the state-run monopoly structure of the system itself might be to blame. Many, including the Prime Minister herself, have pointed to the spike in seasonal illnesses such as the flu at this time of year, to distract from the more fundamental flaws of the system. Officials from Public Health England went so far as to openly dismiss this as a major cause of the current healthcare crisis, stating that current levels of hospital admissions due to the flu are “certainly not unprecedented.” The aging population and local councils’ failure to provide more non-hospital care have also been blamed.

By far the most commonly suggested remedy is simply to inject more taxpayers’ money into this failing system. Indeed, the belief that Britain’s perpetual healthcare crisis is solely the result of funding cuts by miserly Conservative politicians is so widespread that it is almost never challenged, least of all by the trusted experts within the system itself, many of whom stand to benefit from increased funding.

The popular caricature of the NHS as suffering from chronic underfunding is simply a myth. In fact, even when adjusting for inflation, it is clear that government funding to the NHS has been increasing at an extraordinary rate since the turn of the millennium, much more quickly than during the early years which its supporters look back on so fondly.

One commonly heard soundbite from supporters of the current system is that the Conservatives have allowed healthcare spending to slump to historically low levels; all it would take to return the NHS to the levels of success it supposedly previously enjoyed would be to increase its funding back to the same level it previously enjoyed, or so they say. However, to believe such a statement one would have to make two separate misinterpretations of the statistics, both so basic that they would strike shame into even the dullest high school math student: firstly, it is not the absolute amount of spending on the NHS which has fallen under the Conservative-led governments of 2010-18, but merely the rate at which spending is continuing to increase, even when adjusting for inflation. Secondly, the only reason that the rate of increase seems to have fallen is because of how disproportionately high it had been been under the infamously spendthrift Labour governments of 1997-2010. –Mises

What would it take to revive the dead socialized healthcare scheme? Simple.  Free markets. More competition and freedom of choice would not only lower costs but give those in need a say in their own health. As long as British healthcare is organized as a taxpayer-funded state monopoly it will continue to fail, regardless of the amount of money thrown at the problem.

Uganda Doctor: Eye Bleeding Fever Is ‘An Epidemic Already’

The horrific outbreak of “eye bleeding fever” in East Africa has forced one doctor to admit the disturbing truth. The fatal outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is “an epidemic already.”

Amid news that this disease is the same on the wiped out much of the Aztec population, Dr. Mukuzi Muhereza, from the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) warns that immediate action should be taken to prevent the spread of this disease, which has a 40% fatality rate, and as a virus, has no cure.

Dr. Muhereza warned that the disease is “highly contagious” and said the people “must be protected” to prevent it spreading. Muhereza’s warning comes amid a growing war of words between the UMA and Uganda’s health ministry, who have said there is no CCHF in the country, despite confirming a case.

This horrific infection causes victims to suffer from a burning fever before beginning to bleed from orifices including their eyes, anuses, and mouths. World Health Organisation (WHO) officials label any outbreak of CCHF as a major threat to public health. “CCHF outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services because of its epidemic potential, its high case fatality ratio (10-40%), its potential for nosocomial outbreaks and the difficulties in treatment and prevention,” WHO’s description of the virus reads.

And new reports say that the Aztecs fell victim to a strikingly similar disease.

Joe Joseph of The Daily Sheeple says that history could be repeating itself with the reemergence of this deadly disease. “Interestingly enough, it’s [the disease that killed the Aztecs] showing striking similarities to the eye bleeding plague over in Africa,” says Joseph. “If we use history as a guide here, and I would say that it’s pretty serious if a disease like this could wipe out 80% of the Aztec population. And we often wonder why it was that the Aztecs just basically, in a very short span of time, just disappeared…we are starting to see similar chains of events unfold in Africa.”

Dr. Muhereza is in agreement with Joseph.  This could be a huge problem for those in East Africa. “There are several cases that are suspected,” said Muhereza. “We, therefore, state that one confirmed case of CCHF is an epidemic already. The government should activate emergency levels, it should activate epidemic levels.”

Muhereza added that he was “disappointed” in how the outbreak had been handled by the health ministry, saying it was “very very unprofessional.”

25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes, and How You Can Protect Yourself (VIDEO)

Story at-a-glance

• Each day, more than 40,000 harmful and/or lethal medical errors occur in the U.S., and preventable medical errors kill around 440,000 patients each year, making medical mistakes the third leading cause of death


• One in 25 patients end up acquiring an infection while in the hospital, and 75,000 people per year die as a result


• Since 1983, 132 newborns have been abducted from U.S. health care facilities, and hundreds of individuals have been caught posing as doctors when, in fact, they did not have a medical degree


• Misdiagnoses may occur in 10 percent of all cases, and 30 million prescriptions are improperly dispensed each year in U.S. pharmacies


• Two in 10,000 surgical patients come out of surgery with a surgical instrument left inside, and an estimated seven patients undergo surgery on the wrong body part each and every day

Hospitals are typically thought of as places where lives are saved, but statistics show they’re actually one of the most dangerous places you could possibly enter.^1,2 Each day, more than 40,000 harmful and/or lethal medical errors occur, placing the patient in a worse situation than what they came in with.³

According to a 2013 study,^4,5 preventable medical errors kill around 440,000 patients each year — more than 10 times the number of deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes. A 2016 study⁶ calculated the annual death toll to be around 250,000.

Medical Mistakes Are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the US

Either way, medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., and have been since at least 2000, when the late Dr. Barbara Starfield published her shocking conclusion that doctors kill 225,000 patients each year. Her findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.⁷ Ironically, Starfield ended up a statistic herself.

She died suddenly in June 2011, a death her husband attributed to the adverse effects of the blood thinner Plavix taken in combination with aspirin.⁸ Her death certificate, however, makes no mention of this possibility. Indeed, one of the reasons why many are still surprised by these statistics is due to fundamental flaws in the tracking of medical errors, which has shielded the reality of the situation and kept it out of the public eye.

While there are codes that capture iatrogenic causes of death, published mortality statistics do not take them into account. They only look at the condition that led the individual to seek medical treatment in the first place. As a result, even if a doctor lists medical errors in the death certificate, they are not included in the CDC’s mortality statistics, and without that data, medical mistakes remain a largely hidden problem.

Hospitals Are Hotbeds for Lethal Infections

Hospitals have become particularly notorious for spreading lethal infections. According to 2014 statistics^9,10 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 25 patients end up with a hospital-acquired infection, and 75,000 people per year die as a result.¹¹

Earlier research¹² has suggested as many as 1 in 10 patients will contract a nosocomial infection, defined as an infection contracted within 48 hours of hospital admission, or within three days of discharge, or within 30 days of an operation. Medicare patients appear to be at greatest risk. According to the 2011 Health Grades Hospital Quality in America Study,¹³ 1 in 9 Medicare patients developed a hospital-acquired infection.

The video above features the Discovery Channel documentary, “Shocking Medical Mistakes: The Empowered Patient,” originally aired in 2016. In it, medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen investigates medical mistakes and missed diagnoses, including some of her own experiences as a patient, and what you can do to become an empowered patient and reduce your risk when a hospital stay is necessary.

25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes

As mentioned in the video, medical mistakes occur every single day, and some are more serious than others. Cohen reveals 25 of the most shocking in the following countdown, and how you can protect yourself from becoming a statistic:

25. Baby security breach Since 1983, 132 newborns have been abducted from U.S. health care facilities. Safety tip: Make sure a parent or nurse is present with the child at all times while in the hospital.

24. Fake doctors, aka “prestige fraud”14 Believe it or not, hundreds of individuals have been caught posing as doctors when, in fact, they did not have a medical degree. Safety tip: Make sure your doctor is a licensed physician in your state. For help, see CertificationMatters.org.15

23. Treating the wrong patient This mistake typically happens when patients have similar names and the doctor or nurse fails to double-check all of the patient’s data before administering treatment. Safety tip: Before every procedure, including drug administration, make sure the staff checks your full name, date of birth and the barcode on your wrist band, to ensure correct treatment.

22. Pharmacy mix-ups According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, 30 million prescriptions are improperly dispensed each year in U.S. pharmacies. Safety tip: Before you leave the pharmacy, ask the pharmacist to confirm that the medication is the correct one, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the look of the pills, and that you’ve received the correct dosage. Also verify that the label has your name on it.

21. Botched plastic surgery Any number of things can go wrong when you go under the knife, and death is a potential side effect even of plastic surgery. Safety tip: Make sure your surgeon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. You may also want to check whether your surgeon has any malpractice suits filed against him or her. Most state medical boards provide this information free of charge. You can find a list of state medical boards on the Federation of State Medical Boards website.16 Another source is the Administrators in Medicine,17 a nonprofit organization that compiles licensing and disciplinary information from each state’s medical board.

20. Incorrect drug dosages One of the most frequent mistakes occur in pediatrics. A child given an adult dose of a medication can have life-threatening consequences. According to the Joint Commission, hospital personnel stock medication in the wrong places 4 percent of the time, which can lead to incorrect dosage or drug being administered if the nurse or doctor fails to carefully inspect the package before administration. Safety tip: Ask for a daily list of medication and dosages that you are supposed to receive during your hospital stay, and double-check each medication before taking it or allowing it to be administered.

19. Toxic transplants As noted by transplant surgeon Dr. Lloyd Ratner, any given organ donor could be a carrier of one of several thousands of pathogens. The case highlighted in the video is that of an 18-year-old kidney recipient who died of rabies. It turns out the organ donor had been bitten by an infected bat. All of the organ recipients contracted rabies from the infected organs and died. In the U.S., more than 100 organ recipients have died from toxic transplants. Safety tip: If you become sicker after receiving a transplant, ask if other recipients are also getting ill. Early diagnosis and treatment may save your life.

18. Improper or careless discharge A man having just undergone brain surgery is packed into a cab, which drops him off in an unfamiliar neighborhood on a rainy day wearing nothing but a hospital gown and socks. When he was too confused to remember his own address, two Samaritans eventually got him home safely. Safety tip: If you’re scheduled for surgery, find out when you’re scheduled for discharge ahead of time and make sure someone you know is there to take you home.

17. Ambulance errors Any number of errors can occur on the way to the hospital, but first the ambulance must actually get to you. Patients have died due to the ambulance being dispatched to an incorrect address. Safety tip: When calling for an ambulance, if possible, slowly and clearly state and spell the street address.

16. Lost patients This typically occurs in nursing home facilities, where dementia patients may wander off the premises. One in 5 nursing home patients is prone to wandering. In one case, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s was found after a four-day-long manhunt, locked inside a storage closet on the premises. She died shortly thereafter from dehydration. Safety tip: If you have a loved one who is prone to wander, get them a GPS bracelet so you can track their whereabouts.

15. Surgical “souvenirs” Surgical sponges, steel clamps and surgical retractors are but a few of the items that have been left inside patients undergoing surgery. According to one estimate, 2 in 10,000 surgical patients come out of surgery with a “souvenir” left inside. Safety tip: Before surgery, remind hospital staff to count the number of items used, to make sure all surgical items are accounted for before you’re stitched up. Should you experience unexpected fever, pain or swelling following your surgery, ask your doctor to double-check if equipment has accidentally been left inside you.

14. Babies accidentally switched after birth As with patients receiving the wrong treatment, this mistake typically occurs if two mothers have the same or similar name. Safety tip: When a nurse brings your baby, ask him or her to match the baby’s identification bracelet to yours.

13. Deadly air bubbles A young man dies when a nurse fails to follow proper procedure for removal of a central line tube in his chest, allowing air to enter his bloodstream. In one hospital intensive care unit, improperly removed central lines caused 10 air embolisms in a single year. Safety tip: If you have a central line, before removal, confirm the proper procedure is about to be followed. A copy of the nursing protocol for the removal of central lines can be found on ctsnet.org.18 Standard procedure protocols for central line removal in adults and pediatrics can also be found on health.ucsd.edu.19

12. Misdiagnosis Research suggests misdiagnoses may occur in 10 percent of all cases. Safety tip: Trust your instincts. If you believe your doctor has missed something or misdiagnosed you, get a second opinion.

11. Receiving the wrong blood type during transfusion During surgery, you will typically need a blood transfusion. The blood you receive — A, B or O, positive or negative — must match yours, as your body will interpret mismatched blood as a foreign invader. One of every 19,000 units of blood is incorrectly administered in the U.S. Safety tip: Know your blood type and, if possible, verify that the blood bags you’re about to receive are a match. If you cannot see the bags ahead of time, ask hospital staff to verify they have your blood type correct prior to surgery.

10. Surgical equipment causing internal burns A malfunction in the monitoring cable inserted through the heart during a routine bypass surgery causes the cable to heat up, cooking part of the patient’s heart, causing irreparable damage. It sounds unbelievable, but it happened. The patient had to receive a full heart transplant. Lasers and flammable gases used in surgery can also cause unexpected burns. These kinds of errors are typically the result of multiple mistakes, not just one. Still, some 240 surgical fires are reported in American hospitals each year. Safety tip: If undergoing surgery, ask what type of equipment will be used, and how you will be protected from lasers, cables and flammable gases.

9. Medical tube mix-ups Feeding tubes and central line tubes look a lot alike, but knowing which is which is absolutely crucial when it comes time to administer nutrients or medication through the feeding tube. In the example shown in the video, medication meant for a young child’s stomach was administered into her vein, via the central line. The child died. Sixteen percent of doctors and nurses report being aware of tube mix-ups happening at their hospitals. Safety tip: If you have more than one tube, ask medical staff to trace the tube back to its site of origin, each and every time a medication is administered to ensure the correct one is being used.

8. Switched biopsies As many as 1 in 1,000 lab specimens is mislabeled. One 35-year-old woman got a double mastectomy due to her biopsy being switched with another woman’s. She got a second opinion, but the error was not caught because the second doctor simply based his findings on the original, mixed-up lab work. Safety tip: If in doubt, ask to have the biopsy repeated and/or get a second (or third) opinion.

7. Receiving the wrong eggs in fertility treatment Women undergoing fertility treatment face the unusual possibility of receiving the wrong woman’s eggs. In one case, eggs from two women with the same last name were accidentally switched. In this instance, the woman carried the baby to term, then adopted the baby boy out to his real parents. Safety tip: Be very careful in your selection of a fertility clinic. Make sure the clinic is accredited by the College of American Pathologists.

6. Operating on the wrong body part In the U.S., an estimated seven patients undergo surgery on the wrong body part each and every day. Safety tip: Before surgery, confirm the correct location of the surgery — both body part and side — with the nurse and surgeon. Also make sure the surgeon has clearly marked the correct site. Considering the frequency at which this mistake occurs, do not be shy about doing this.

5. Unsafe radiation Incorrectly programmed and calibrated CT scans can deliver an unsafe dose of radiation. The video shows three patients whose CT scans resulted in the loss of hair in a ring around their head. It turns out the machine was incorrectly calibrated, delivering eight times the normal dose of radiation. These patients now also face the possibility of getting brain cancer at some point in the future. Safety tip: Whenever possible, opt for an ultrasound or MRI instead of a CT scan, as they do not use ionizing radiation to produce the image.

4. Hospital-acquired infections Not only will 1 in 25 hospital patients contract an infection, many of these infectious pathogens are now resistant to all antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse, especially in agriculture, has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Hospital-acquired infections kill 75,000 patients each year in the U.S. — a death toll that could be significantly reduced simply by following proper handwashing protocols. Doctors and nurses should wash their hands and/or change gloves between each patient. Patients should also wash their hands frequently. Safety tip: Each time hospital staff enters your room, ask them to wash their hands and change gloves. Bacteria can spread from their hands to tables, bed rails, bedding, wound dressings, catheters and, of course, your skin if they touch you. You may then contract the bacteria if you touch a contaminated area.

3. Metal in the MRI room An MRI machine is an exceptionally powerful magnet, which is why no metals are allowed to be brought into the room. In one case, a hospital worker walks into the MRI room carrying an oxygen tank while a young boy is getting scanned. The tank flies across the room, delivering a lethal blow to the boy’s head. While exceedingly rare, an investigation reveals it is not the sole case on record. Safety tip: When getting an MRI, make sure there is no metal on, in or around you, anywhere in the room. Metal implants must be reported prior to getting an MRI.

2. Excessive emergency room wait times Emergency rooms are normally busy places, and personnel must make hundreds if not thousands of potentially critical decisions each day. It can be easy to miss the signs of critical illness, especially if the condition is rare. In one case, a five-hour wait resulted in a baby girl requiring amputation of both hands and legs, as personnel failed to realize the critical nature of her condition. It turns out her body was being ravaged by flesh-eating bacteria. According to the CDC, the average emergency room wait time is 49 minutes. Safety tip: If you suspect you or a loved one is in critical condition and need immediate attention, call your family physician before or on the way to the hospital, and ask him or her to call the emergency room on your behalf. This way, the staff know you’re on your way and that it’s truly serious.

1. Waking up during surgery (anesthesia awareness) Last but not least, a nightmare come true: You wake up during surgery and feel every poke, prod and cut, but cannot move or make a sound. “Anesthesia awareness,” the technical term for waking up during surgery, happens when you receive an inadequate dose of anesthesia, allowing your brain to remain aware while paralyzing your muscles. Here, the statistics are discouraging: 1 in 1,000 patients reportedly suffer anesthesia awareness. Fortunately, most of these do not feel pain. Safety tip: If you need surgery, ask your surgeon if you really need anesthesia or if a local anesthetic would be sufficient.

Safeguarding Your Care While Hospitalized

Download Interview Transcript

Once you’re hospitalized, you’re immediately at risk for medical errors, so one of the best safeguards is to have someone there with you. Dr. Andrew Saul has written an entire book on the issue of safeguarding your health while hospitalized. Frequently, you’re going to be relatively debilitated, especially post-op when you’re under the influence of anesthesia, and you won’t have the opportunity to see the types of processes that are going on. This is particularly important for pediatric patients and the elderly.

It’s important to have a personal advocate present to ask questions and take notes. For every medication given in the hospital, ask questions such as: “What is this medication? What is it for? What’s the dose?” Most people, doctors and nurses included, are more apt to go through that extra step of due diligence to make sure they’re getting it right if they know they’ll be questioned about it.

If someone you know is scheduled for surgery, you can print out the World Health Organization’s surgical safety checklist and implementation manual,²⁰ which is part of the campaign “Safe Surgery Saves Lives.” The checklist can be downloaded free of charge here. If a loved one is in the hospital, print it out and bring it with you, as this can help you protect your family member or friend from preventable errors in care.

– Sources and References

• ¹ The Crux, This is one of the most dangerous places in America


• ² New York Times January 26, 2016


• ^3, 13 HealthGrades 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital Quality in America Report


• ⁴ Journal of Patient Safety 2013 Sep;9(3):122-8


• ⁵ NPR September 24, 2013


• ⁶ BMJ 2016;353:i2139


• ⁷ America’s Healthcare System is the Third Leading Cause of Death, Barbara Starfield, M.D. (2000)


• ⁸ Archives of Internal Medicine 2012;172(15):1174-1177


• ⁹ CDC.gov Health Care Associated Infections


• ¹⁰ New England Journal of Medicine 2014;370:1198-208


• ¹¹ Consumer Reports, America’s Antibiotic Crisis


• ¹² Continuing Education in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain February 1, 2005; 5(1): 14–17


• ¹⁴ Broadly.vice.com October 18, 2016


• ¹⁵ CertificationMatters.org


• ¹⁶ FSMB.org


• ¹⁷ Administrators in Medicine


• ¹⁸ Nursing Protocol for Removal of Central Venous Catheters


• ¹⁹ Standardized Procedure for Central Line Removal


• ²⁰ WHO Checklist for Safe Surgery

Article republished from Mercola.com. 

The post 25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes, and How You Can Protect Yourself (VIDEO) appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes, and How You Can Protect Yourself (VIDEO)

Story at-a-glance

• Each day, more than 40,000 harmful and/or lethal medical errors occur in the U.S., and preventable medical errors kill around 440,000 patients each year, making medical mistakes the third leading cause of death


• One in 25 patients end up acquiring an infection while in the hospital, and 75,000 people per year die as a result


• Since 1983, 132 newborns have been abducted from U.S. health care facilities, and hundreds of individuals have been caught posing as doctors when, in fact, they did not have a medical degree


• Misdiagnoses may occur in 10 percent of all cases, and 30 million prescriptions are improperly dispensed each year in U.S. pharmacies


• Two in 10,000 surgical patients come out of surgery with a surgical instrument left inside, and an estimated seven patients undergo surgery on the wrong body part each and every day

Hospitals are typically thought of as places where lives are saved, but statistics show they’re actually one of the most dangerous places you could possibly enter.^1,2 Each day, more than 40,000 harmful and/or lethal medical errors occur, placing the patient in a worse situation than what they came in with.³

According to a 2013 study,^4,5 preventable medical errors kill around 440,000 patients each year — more than 10 times the number of deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes. A 2016 study⁶ calculated the annual death toll to be around 250,000.

Medical Mistakes Are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the US

Either way, medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., and have been since at least 2000, when the late Dr. Barbara Starfield published her shocking conclusion that doctors kill 225,000 patients each year. Her findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.⁷ Ironically, Starfield ended up a statistic herself.

She died suddenly in June 2011, a death her husband attributed to the adverse effects of the blood thinner Plavix taken in combination with aspirin.⁸ Her death certificate, however, makes no mention of this possibility. Indeed, one of the reasons why many are still surprised by these statistics is due to fundamental flaws in the tracking of medical errors, which has shielded the reality of the situation and kept it out of the public eye.

While there are codes that capture iatrogenic causes of death, published mortality statistics do not take them into account. They only look at the condition that led the individual to seek medical treatment in the first place. As a result, even if a doctor lists medical errors in the death certificate, they are not included in the CDC’s mortality statistics, and without that data, medical mistakes remain a largely hidden problem.

Hospitals Are Hotbeds for Lethal Infections

Hospitals have become particularly notorious for spreading lethal infections. According to 2014 statistics^9,10 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 25 patients end up with a hospital-acquired infection, and 75,000 people per year die as a result.¹¹

Earlier research¹² has suggested as many as 1 in 10 patients will contract a nosocomial infection, defined as an infection contracted within 48 hours of hospital admission, or within three days of discharge, or within 30 days of an operation. Medicare patients appear to be at greatest risk. According to the 2011 Health Grades Hospital Quality in America Study,¹³ 1 in 9 Medicare patients developed a hospital-acquired infection.

The video above features the Discovery Channel documentary, “Shocking Medical Mistakes: The Empowered Patient,” originally aired in 2016. In it, medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen investigates medical mistakes and missed diagnoses, including some of her own experiences as a patient, and what you can do to become an empowered patient and reduce your risk when a hospital stay is necessary.

25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes

As mentioned in the video, medical mistakes occur every single day, and some are more serious than others. Cohen reveals 25 of the most shocking in the following countdown, and how you can protect yourself from becoming a statistic:

25. Baby security breach Since 1983, 132 newborns have been abducted from U.S. health care facilities. Safety tip: Make sure a parent or nurse is present with the child at all times while in the hospital.

24. Fake doctors, aka “prestige fraud”14 Believe it or not, hundreds of individuals have been caught posing as doctors when, in fact, they did not have a medical degree. Safety tip: Make sure your doctor is a licensed physician in your state. For help, see CertificationMatters.org.15

23. Treating the wrong patient This mistake typically happens when patients have similar names and the doctor or nurse fails to double-check all of the patient’s data before administering treatment. Safety tip: Before every procedure, including drug administration, make sure the staff checks your full name, date of birth and the barcode on your wrist band, to ensure correct treatment.

22. Pharmacy mix-ups According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, 30 million prescriptions are improperly dispensed each year in U.S. pharmacies. Safety tip: Before you leave the pharmacy, ask the pharmacist to confirm that the medication is the correct one, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the look of the pills, and that you’ve received the correct dosage. Also verify that the label has your name on it.

21. Botched plastic surgery Any number of things can go wrong when you go under the knife, and death is a potential side effect even of plastic surgery. Safety tip: Make sure your surgeon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. You may also want to check whether your surgeon has any malpractice suits filed against him or her. Most state medical boards provide this information free of charge. You can find a list of state medical boards on the Federation of State Medical Boards website.16 Another source is the Administrators in Medicine,17 a nonprofit organization that compiles licensing and disciplinary information from each state’s medical board.

20. Incorrect drug dosages One of the most frequent mistakes occur in pediatrics. A child given an adult dose of a medication can have life-threatening consequences. According to the Joint Commission, hospital personnel stock medication in the wrong places 4 percent of the time, which can lead to incorrect dosage or drug being administered if the nurse or doctor fails to carefully inspect the package before administration. Safety tip: Ask for a daily list of medication and dosages that you are supposed to receive during your hospital stay, and double-check each medication before taking it or allowing it to be administered.

19. Toxic transplants As noted by transplant surgeon Dr. Lloyd Ratner, any given organ donor could be a carrier of one of several thousands of pathogens. The case highlighted in the video is that of an 18-year-old kidney recipient who died of rabies. It turns out the organ donor had been bitten by an infected bat. All of the organ recipients contracted rabies from the infected organs and died. In the U.S., more than 100 organ recipients have died from toxic transplants. Safety tip: If you become sicker after receiving a transplant, ask if other recipients are also getting ill. Early diagnosis and treatment may save your life.

18. Improper or careless discharge A man having just undergone brain surgery is packed into a cab, which drops him off in an unfamiliar neighborhood on a rainy day wearing nothing but a hospital gown and socks. When he was too confused to remember his own address, two Samaritans eventually got him home safely. Safety tip: If you’re scheduled for surgery, find out when you’re scheduled for discharge ahead of time and make sure someone you know is there to take you home.

17. Ambulance errors Any number of errors can occur on the way to the hospital, but first the ambulance must actually get to you. Patients have died due to the ambulance being dispatched to an incorrect address. Safety tip: When calling for an ambulance, if possible, slowly and clearly state and spell the street address.

16. Lost patients This typically occurs in nursing home facilities, where dementia patients may wander off the premises. One in 5 nursing home patients is prone to wandering. In one case, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s was found after a four-day-long manhunt, locked inside a storage closet on the premises. She died shortly thereafter from dehydration. Safety tip: If you have a loved one who is prone to wander, get them a GPS bracelet so you can track their whereabouts.

15. Surgical “souvenirs” Surgical sponges, steel clamps and surgical retractors are but a few of the items that have been left inside patients undergoing surgery. According to one estimate, 2 in 10,000 surgical patients come out of surgery with a “souvenir” left inside. Safety tip: Before surgery, remind hospital staff to count the number of items used, to make sure all surgical items are accounted for before you’re stitched up. Should you experience unexpected fever, pain or swelling following your surgery, ask your doctor to double-check if equipment has accidentally been left inside you.

14. Babies accidentally switched after birth As with patients receiving the wrong treatment, this mistake typically occurs if two mothers have the same or similar name. Safety tip: When a nurse brings your baby, ask him or her to match the baby’s identification bracelet to yours.

13. Deadly air bubbles A young man dies when a nurse fails to follow proper procedure for removal of a central line tube in his chest, allowing air to enter his bloodstream. In one hospital intensive care unit, improperly removed central lines caused 10 air embolisms in a single year. Safety tip: If you have a central line, before removal, confirm the proper procedure is about to be followed. A copy of the nursing protocol for the removal of central lines can be found on ctsnet.org.18 Standard procedure protocols for central line removal in adults and pediatrics can also be found on health.ucsd.edu.19

12. Misdiagnosis Research suggests misdiagnoses may occur in 10 percent of all cases. Safety tip: Trust your instincts. If you believe your doctor has missed something or misdiagnosed you, get a second opinion.

11. Receiving the wrong blood type during transfusion During surgery, you will typically need a blood transfusion. The blood you receive — A, B or O, positive or negative — must match yours, as your body will interpret mismatched blood as a foreign invader. One of every 19,000 units of blood is incorrectly administered in the U.S. Safety tip: Know your blood type and, if possible, verify that the blood bags you’re about to receive are a match. If you cannot see the bags ahead of time, ask hospital staff to verify they have your blood type correct prior to surgery.

10. Surgical equipment causing internal burns A malfunction in the monitoring cable inserted through the heart during a routine bypass surgery causes the cable to heat up, cooking part of the patient’s heart, causing irreparable damage. It sounds unbelievable, but it happened. The patient had to receive a full heart transplant. Lasers and flammable gases used in surgery can also cause unexpected burns. These kinds of errors are typically the result of multiple mistakes, not just one. Still, some 240 surgical fires are reported in American hospitals each year. Safety tip: If undergoing surgery, ask what type of equipment will be used, and how you will be protected from lasers, cables and flammable gases.

9. Medical tube mix-ups Feeding tubes and central line tubes look a lot alike, but knowing which is which is absolutely crucial when it comes time to administer nutrients or medication through the feeding tube. In the example shown in the video, medication meant for a young child’s stomach was administered into her vein, via the central line. The child died. Sixteen percent of doctors and nurses report being aware of tube mix-ups happening at their hospitals. Safety tip: If you have more than one tube, ask medical staff to trace the tube back to its site of origin, each and every time a medication is administered to ensure the correct one is being used.

8. Switched biopsies As many as 1 in 1,000 lab specimens is mislabeled. One 35-year-old woman got a double mastectomy due to her biopsy being switched with another woman’s. She got a second opinion, but the error was not caught because the second doctor simply based his findings on the original, mixed-up lab work. Safety tip: If in doubt, ask to have the biopsy repeated and/or get a second (or third) opinion.

7. Receiving the wrong eggs in fertility treatment Women undergoing fertility treatment face the unusual possibility of receiving the wrong woman’s eggs. In one case, eggs from two women with the same last name were accidentally switched. In this instance, the woman carried the baby to term, then adopted the baby boy out to his real parents. Safety tip: Be very careful in your selection of a fertility clinic. Make sure the clinic is accredited by the College of American Pathologists.

6. Operating on the wrong body part In the U.S., an estimated seven patients undergo surgery on the wrong body part each and every day. Safety tip: Before surgery, confirm the correct location of the surgery — both body part and side — with the nurse and surgeon. Also make sure the surgeon has clearly marked the correct site. Considering the frequency at which this mistake occurs, do not be shy about doing this.

5. Unsafe radiation Incorrectly programmed and calibrated CT scans can deliver an unsafe dose of radiation. The video shows three patients whose CT scans resulted in the loss of hair in a ring around their head. It turns out the machine was incorrectly calibrated, delivering eight times the normal dose of radiation. These patients now also face the possibility of getting brain cancer at some point in the future. Safety tip: Whenever possible, opt for an ultrasound or MRI instead of a CT scan, as they do not use ionizing radiation to produce the image.

4. Hospital-acquired infections Not only will 1 in 25 hospital patients contract an infection, many of these infectious pathogens are now resistant to all antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse, especially in agriculture, has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Hospital-acquired infections kill 75,000 patients each year in the U.S. — a death toll that could be significantly reduced simply by following proper handwashing protocols. Doctors and nurses should wash their hands and/or change gloves between each patient. Patients should also wash their hands frequently. Safety tip: Each time hospital staff enters your room, ask them to wash their hands and change gloves. Bacteria can spread from their hands to tables, bed rails, bedding, wound dressings, catheters and, of course, your skin if they touch you. You may then contract the bacteria if you touch a contaminated area.

3. Metal in the MRI room An MRI machine is an exceptionally powerful magnet, which is why no metals are allowed to be brought into the room. In one case, a hospital worker walks into the MRI room carrying an oxygen tank while a young boy is getting scanned. The tank flies across the room, delivering a lethal blow to the boy’s head. While exceedingly rare, an investigation reveals it is not the sole case on record. Safety tip: When getting an MRI, make sure there is no metal on, in or around you, anywhere in the room. Metal implants must be reported prior to getting an MRI.

2. Excessive emergency room wait times Emergency rooms are normally busy places, and personnel must make hundreds if not thousands of potentially critical decisions each day. It can be easy to miss the signs of critical illness, especially if the condition is rare. In one case, a five-hour wait resulted in a baby girl requiring amputation of both hands and legs, as personnel failed to realize the critical nature of her condition. It turns out her body was being ravaged by flesh-eating bacteria. According to the CDC, the average emergency room wait time is 49 minutes. Safety tip: If you suspect you or a loved one is in critical condition and need immediate attention, call your family physician before or on the way to the hospital, and ask him or her to call the emergency room on your behalf. This way, the staff know you’re on your way and that it’s truly serious.

1. Waking up during surgery (anesthesia awareness) Last but not least, a nightmare come true: You wake up during surgery and feel every poke, prod and cut, but cannot move or make a sound. “Anesthesia awareness,” the technical term for waking up during surgery, happens when you receive an inadequate dose of anesthesia, allowing your brain to remain aware while paralyzing your muscles. Here, the statistics are discouraging: 1 in 1,000 patients reportedly suffer anesthesia awareness. Fortunately, most of these do not feel pain. Safety tip: If you need surgery, ask your surgeon if you really need anesthesia or if a local anesthetic would be sufficient.

Safeguarding Your Care While Hospitalized

Download Interview Transcript

Once you’re hospitalized, you’re immediately at risk for medical errors, so one of the best safeguards is to have someone there with you. Dr. Andrew Saul has written an entire book on the issue of safeguarding your health while hospitalized. Frequently, you’re going to be relatively debilitated, especially post-op when you’re under the influence of anesthesia, and you won’t have the opportunity to see the types of processes that are going on. This is particularly important for pediatric patients and the elderly.

It’s important to have a personal advocate present to ask questions and take notes. For every medication given in the hospital, ask questions such as: “What is this medication? What is it for? What’s the dose?” Most people, doctors and nurses included, are more apt to go through that extra step of due diligence to make sure they’re getting it right if they know they’ll be questioned about it.

If someone you know is scheduled for surgery, you can print out the World Health Organization’s surgical safety checklist and implementation manual,²⁰ which is part of the campaign “Safe Surgery Saves Lives.” The checklist can be downloaded free of charge here. If a loved one is in the hospital, print it out and bring it with you, as this can help you protect your family member or friend from preventable errors in care.

– Sources and References

• ¹ The Crux, This is one of the most dangerous places in America


• ² New York Times January 26, 2016


• ^3, 13 HealthGrades 2011 Healthcare Consumerism and Hospital Quality in America Report


• ⁴ Journal of Patient Safety 2013 Sep;9(3):122-8


• ⁵ NPR September 24, 2013


• ⁶ BMJ 2016;353:i2139


• ⁷ America’s Healthcare System is the Third Leading Cause of Death, Barbara Starfield, M.D. (2000)


• ⁸ Archives of Internal Medicine 2012;172(15):1174-1177


• ⁹ CDC.gov Health Care Associated Infections


• ¹⁰ New England Journal of Medicine 2014;370:1198-208


• ¹¹ Consumer Reports, America’s Antibiotic Crisis


• ¹² Continuing Education in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain February 1, 2005; 5(1): 14–17


• ¹⁴ Broadly.vice.com October 18, 2016


• ¹⁵ CertificationMatters.org


• ¹⁶ FSMB.org


• ¹⁷ Administrators in Medicine


• ¹⁸ Nursing Protocol for Removal of Central Venous Catheters


• ¹⁹ Standardized Procedure for Central Line Removal


• ²⁰ WHO Checklist for Safe Surgery

Article republished from Mercola.com. 

The post 25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes, and How You Can Protect Yourself (VIDEO) appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.