“An estimated 15,000 Medicare patients die each month from a lack of proper health care in hospitals.”
by Sherry Anshara —
(Editor’s Note: Part I of this article covered statistics on prescription drug overdose, opioid painkiller deaths and becoming involved in your health and healing process.)
Prescription drug overuse and overdose has become increasingly problematic. Yes, there are times when specific drugs can assist in maintaining a certain level of health, if they are used correctly and support the intelligence of your body. However, statistics show that drugs are too often being used as the “cure.” Remember that you “cure” ham and other meats, not humans.
What is becoming even more disturbing are the statistics on hospital-related deaths that were preventable. An article posted by Jared Green on November 17, 2010, and published in USA Today, stated: “An estimated 15,000 Medicare patients die each month from a lack of proper health care in hospitals.” That is not a typographical error — it is actually 15,000 per month. A release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality called the news “alarming.” I would call it shocking and absolutely unacceptable.
“The study, the first of its kind aimed at calculating adverse events in hospitals, found that these deaths occur from a lack of basic patient care. The injuries resulting in the deaths include bed sores, infections and excessive bleeding from blood-thinning drugs. These medical errors are completely preventable.”
These statistics involve Medicare. What about non-Medicare patients? If you are not safe in a hospital for your health care, then where are you safe?
“Medical negligence and malpractice claims may include unsanitary or unclean conditions, medication errors, negligent care, surgical mistakes, hospital mistakes, failure to diagnose and many other types of problems,” says Thomas Waitt Pleasant, a North Carolina lawyer who represents people in personal injury and wrongful death cases in which the victim was injured (or died) due to the medical mistakes/negligence of hospitals, doctors, nurses, physician assistants and other health care providers. This has become a nationwide problem.
In the U.S., medical errors are estimated to result in 44,000 to 200,000 preventable deaths in hospital settings and 1 million excess injuries each year, according to Wikipedia. In nursing homes, infections contribute to 380,000 deaths per year, with costs reaching $2 billion. At least 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured or killed each year by errors in prescribing, dispensing and taking medications, the influential Institute of Medicine concluded in a major report (Washington Post, 2006).
Before blaming those in the medical profession, I think it is important to understand that they are doing the best they can within their model of health care. Many medical practitioners are distraught about this situation, and you should be also. There are myriad reasons to begin to take charge of your own health care. First you have to care about your health. All of the information and statistics coming to light in the media and on the Internet present a great learning opportunity.
Blaming is not going to solve anything. Get the facts and stay unemotional. You have every right to be completely involved in your health care and healing process. Ultimately, you make the final choices for your own body.
Do the research. Get a second, third and even a fourth opinion. Do not just blindly accept the first opinion. Before you take any medications, make sure they do not interfere with whatever else you may be taking, i.e., homeopathy, network marketing products, over-the-counter vitamins, etc.
If you are taking homeopathic or natural remedies, be sure to tell your doctor or health care provider. Do your homework. Make sure for yourself that what you are taking is helping you get better. Do not become over-medicated. Be informed about the side effects of the medication. Monitor yourself.
If you are hospitalized, you should feel completely secure with your doctors and health care providers. Ask questions and feel empowered to be your own spokesperson, as this is about your body and your health. Trust your “gut feelings.”
So instead of blaming the medical system, get involved in your health care. This does not mean self-diagnosis. Stick to the facts and do not accept anything that does not feel right, and keep your health care providers informed about what you are doing for your own self-care.
Here are some disturbing medical facts to think about:
- Prescription drugs cause most of the more than 26,000 fatal overdoses each year.
- About 120,000 Americans a year go to the emergency room after overdosing on opioid painkillers.
- An estimated 15,000 Medicare patients die each month from a lack of proper health care in hospitals.
- In nursing homes, infections contribute to 380,000 deaths per year, with costs reaching $2 billion.
- At least 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured or killed each year by errors in prescribing, dispensing and taking medications.
Keep asking questions until you feel you have all the information to make an informed choice for yourself. Do not become a statistic. Your health and your health care are up to you.
Sherry Anshara is a medical intuitive, author, founder of the QuantumPathic Center of Consciousness, creator of the QuantumPathic® Energy Method and founder/president of the Blended Healthcare Consortium in Scottsdale, Ariz. www.quantumpathic.com, www.sherryanshara.com, sherryanshara@quantumpathic.com or 480-609-0874.
Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 30, Number 5, Oct/Nov 2011.
February 23, 2012
Healing, Health