Medical Errors

In medical school, doctors are taught that people are “patients” who must only rely on licensed doctors for the diagnosis and treatment of disease as well as any aspect of prevention and health promotion.

While it is true that such paternalistic views are in the process of change, North American and Western European society, for the most part, still support this dogma through the legal system. Conventional medical practice still has a virtual monopoly on the delivery of health and disease care services.

Does mainstream medicine really deserve this privilege? I think not. Let me tell you why.

Medical errors are the eighth leading cause of death in North America today. As many as 98,000 hospitalized Americans die every year due to medical mistakes, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine (November 30, 1999). In Great Britain, medical blunders are the third leading cause of death next to cancer and heart disease, killing up to 40,000 people each year.

Most of these deaths involve the incorrect or inappropriate prescribing of drugs—not the side effects of cancer chemotherapy or amputations on the wrong limb. Even when they are properly prescribed and taken as directed, the side effects of drugs alone have been reported to be the fourth or fifth leading cause of death in North America.

The one sure way we can reverse this tragedy is to start taking more responsibility for our health rather than leaving it mostly to doctor interventions. This requires some willingness to participate more in self-care. Do some research and reading on a wide variety of subjects, and question long-held beliefs.

It is never too late to learn about health and how to enhance it naturally. Education in and of itself extends life and vitality. The blogs you read here are designed to make the task easier and, hopefully, more enjoyable for you and your loved ones.

Dr. Zoltan Rona