{news} Doctors ARE the Third leading Cause of Death in the United States..................

Wed Jul 11 13:40:43 EDT 2007

Ala SICKO:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: D Alexander Murville <andrei112 at msn.com>
Date: Jul 10, 2007 3:36 PM
Subject: USGP-INT Doctors ARE the Third leading Cause of Death in the
United States..................
To: usgp-int <usgp-int at gp-us.org>

  Doctors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US, Causing 225,000
                             Deaths Every Year

 This article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is
 the best article I have ever seen written in the published literature
 documenting the tragedy of the traditional medical paradigm.

 If you want to keep updated on issues like this click here to sign up for
 my free newsletter.

 This information is a followup of the Institute of Medicine report which
 hit the papers in December of last year, but the data was hard to
 reference as it was not in peer-reviewed journal. Now it is published in
 JAMA which is the most widely circulated medical periodical in the world.

 The author is Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of
 Hygiene and Public Health and she describes how the US health care system
 may contribute to poor health.

 ALL THESE ARE DEATHS PER YEAR:
       12,000 -- unnecessary surgery
       7,000 -- medication errors in hospitals
       20,000 -- other errors in hospitals
       80,000 -- infections in hospitals
       106,000 -- non-error, negative effects of drugs
 These total to 225,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes!!

 What does the word iatrogenic mean? This term is defined as induced in a
 patient by a physician's activity, manner, or therapy. Used especially of
 a complication of treatment.

 Dr. Starfield offers several warnings in interpreting these numbers:
       First, most of the data are derived from studies in hospitalized
       patients.
       Second, these estimates are for deaths only and do not include
       negative effects that are associated with disability or discomfort.
       Third, the estimates of death due to error are lower than those in
       the IOM report.

 If the higher estimates are used, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes
 would range from 230,000 to 284,000. In any case, 225,000 deaths per year
 constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United States, after
 deaths from heart disease and cancer. Even if these figures are
 overestimated, there is a wide margin between these numbers of deaths and
 the next leading cause of death (cerebrovascular disease).

 Another analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of consecutive
 patients experience negative effects in outpatient settings,with:
       116 million extra physician visits
       77 million extra prescriptions
       17 million emergency department visits
       8 million hospitalizations
       3 million long-term admissions
       199,000 additional deaths
       $77 billion in extra costs

 The high cost of the health care system is considered to be a deficit,
 but seems to be tolerated under the assumption that better health results
 from more expensive care.

 However, evidence from a few studies indicates that as many as 20% to 30%
 of patients receive inappropriate care.

 An estimated 44,000 to 98,000 among them die each year as a result of
 medical errors.

 This might be tolerated if it resulted in better health, but does it? Of
 13 countries in a recent comparison, the United States ranks an average
 of 12th (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators. More
 specifically, the ranking of the US on several indicators was:
       13th (last) for low-birth-weight percentages
       13th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall
       11th for postneonatal mortality
       13th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)
       11th for life expectancy at 1 year for females, 12th for males
       10th for life expectancy at 15 years for females, 12th for males
       10th for life expectancy at 40 years for females, 9th for males
       7th for life expectancy at 65 years for females, 7th for males
       3rd for life expectancy at 80 years for females, 3rd for males
       10th for age-adjusted mortality

 The poor performance of the US was recently confirmed by a World Health
 Organization study, which used different data and ranked the United
 States as 15th among 25 industrialized countries.

 There is a perception that the American public "behaves badly" by
 smoking, drinking, and perpetrating violence." However the data does not
 support this assertion.
       The proportion of females who smoke ranges from 14% in Japan to 41%
       in Denmark; in the United States, it is 24% (fifth best). For
       males, the range is from 26% in Sweden to 61% in Japan; it is 28%
       in the United States (third best).
       The US ranks fifth best for alcoholic beverage consumption.
       The US has relatively low consumption of animal fats (fifth lowest
       in men aged 55-64 years in 20 industrialized countries) and the
       third lowest mean cholesterol concentrations among men aged 50 to
       70 years among 13 industrialized countries.

 These estimates of death due to error are lower than those in a recent
 Institutes of Medicine report, and if the higher estimates are used, the
 deaths due to iatrogenic causes would range from 230,000 to 284,000.

 Even at the lower estimate of 225,000 deaths per year, this constitutes
 the third leading cause of death in the US, following heart disease and
 cancer.

 Lack of technology is certainly not a contributing factor to the US's low
 ranking.
       Among 29 countries, the United States is second only to Japan in
       the availability of magnetic resonance imaging units and computed
       tomography scanners per million population. 17
       Japan, however, ranks highest on health, whereas the US ranks among
       the lowest.
       It is possible that the high use of technology in Japan is limited
       to diagnostic technology not matched by high rates of treatment,
       whereas in the US, high use of diagnostic technology may be linked
       to more treatment.
       Supporting this possibility are data showing that the number of
       employees per bed (full-time equivalents) in the United States is
       highest among the countries ranked, whereas they are very low in
       Japan, far lower than can be accounted for by the common practice
       of having family members rather than hospital staff provide the
       amenities of hospital care.

 Journal American Medical Association July 26, 2000;284(4):483-5

 DR .MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

 Folks, this is what they call a "Landmark Article". Only several ones
 like this are published every year. One of the major reasons it is so
 huge as that it is published in JAMA which is the largest and one of the
 most respected medical journals in the entire world.

 I did find it most curious that the best wire service in the world,
 Reuter's, did not pick up this article. I have no idea why they let it
 slip by.

 I would encourage you to bookmark this article and review it several
 times so you can use the statistics to counter the arguments of your
 friends and relatives who are so enthralled with the traditional medical
 paradigm. These statistics prove very clearly that the system is just not
 working. It is broken and is in desperate need of repair.

 I was previously fond of saying that drugs are the fourth leading cause
 of death in this country. However, this article makes it quite clear that
 the more powerful number is that doctors are the third leading cause of
 death in this country killing nearly a quarter million people a year. The
 only more common causes are cancer and heart disease.

 This statistic is likely to be seriously underestimated as much of the
 coding only describes the cause of organ failure and does not address
 iatrogenic causes at all.

 Japan seems to have benefited from recognizing that technology is
 wonderful, but just because you diagnose something with it, one should
 not be committed to undergoing treatment in the traditional paradigm.
 Their health statistics reflect this aspect of their philosophy as much
 of their treatment is not treatment at all, but loving care rendered in
 the home.

 Care, not treatment, is the answer. Drugs, surgery and hospitals are
 rarely the answer to chronic health problems. Facilitating the God-given
 healing capacity that all of us have is the key. Improving the diet,
 exercise, and lifestyle are basic.

 Effective interventions for the underlying emotional and spiritual
 wounding behind most chronic illness are also important clues to
 maximizing health and reducing disease.

 Related Articles:

       Medical Mistakes Kill 100,000 per year

       US Health Care System Most Expensive in the World

       Drug Induced Disorders

 Author/Article Information

       Author Affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management,
       Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
       Corresponding Author and Reprints: Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH,
       Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins School of
       Hygiene and Public Health, 624 N Broadway, Room 452, Baltimore, MD
       21205-1996 (e-mail: bstarfie at jhsph.edu).

 References

       1. Schuster M, McGlynn E, Brook R. How good is the quality of
       health care in the United States?
       Milbank Q. 1998;76:517-563.

       2. Kohn L, ed, Corrigan J, ed, Donaldson M, ed. To Err Is Human:
       Building a Safer Health System. Washington, DC: National Academy
       Press; 1999.

       3. Starfield B. Primary Care: Balancing Health Needs, Services, and
       Technology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1998.

       4. World Health Report 2000. Accessed June 28, 2000.

       5. Kunst A. Cross-national Comparisons of Socioeconomic Differences
       in Mortality. Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Erasmus University; 1997.

       6. Law M, Wald N. Why heart disease mortality is low in France: the
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       7. Starfield B. Evaluating the State Children's Health Insurance
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       Annu Rev Public Health. 2000;21:569-585.

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       9. Phillips D, Christenfeld N, Glynn L. Increase in US
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       10. Lazarou J, Pomeranz B, Corey P. Incidence of adverse drug
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       11. Weingart SN, Wilson RM, Gibberd RW, Harrison B. Epidemiology
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       12. Wilkinson R. Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of
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       13. Evans R, Roos N. What is right about the Canadian health
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       14. Guyer B, Hoyert D, Martin J, Ventura S, MacDorman M, Strobino
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       15. Harrold LR, Field TS, Gurwitz JH. Knowledge, patterns of care,
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       16. Donahoe MT. Comparing generalist and specialty care:
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       17. Anderson G, Poullier J-P. Health Spending, Access, and
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       18. Mold J, Stein H. The cascade effect in the clinical care of
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       19. Shi L, Starfield B. Income inequality, primary care, and health
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-- 
Doctors are the
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