Medical Mistakes Are No Cause for Alarm

Wall Steet Journal ^ | 18 July 2002 | THEODORE DALRYMPLE

[shrinkermd]

The history of medicine is a record not only of brilliant success and stunning progress: It is also a litany of mistaken ideas and discarded treatments, some of which came to appear absurd or downright dangerous after having once been hailed as unprecedented advances.

[shrinkermd]

FYI. The problem of more hidden benefits versus overt liablilities to treatments has always been a difficult one.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

As long as a single trial lawyer remains alive, there will be no such thing as a "medical mistake," only malpractice.

[RJCogburn]

Pretty fair article demonstrating why we need to do studies.

[Deguello]

It has been noted that the leading cause of death in the USA is "Medical Misadventure".

[freedomcrusader]

From a book well-known among physicians, called House of God, by Samuel Shem:

RULE XIII. THE DELIVERY OF MEDICAL CARE IS TO DO AS MUCH NOTHING AS POSSIBLE.

[RJCogburn]

It has been noted that the leading cause of death in the USA is "Medical Misadventure".

It has been further noted that this claim is overstated and basically bogus...not to deny that medical misadventures occur way too often.

[Taliesan]

There were theoretical reasons for believing that the knee operations would relieve arthritic suffering, and many patients reported precisely such relief afterwards.

I personally know orthopedic surgeons who do this procedure, and what they have ALWAYS told their patients is: "Many people get short term symptomatic relief from this procedure. We don't know why. Even if it helps your pain, it will not slow down the underlying disease process, but may buy you some time before you have to have a more radical operation."

Many patients choose to have it after that sort of disclosure, which is an honest one. As usual, the media reports what they want.