What if U.S. citizens suddenly found out a new medical fact that, if they paid heed to it, could dramatically protect the lives of themselves and their loved ones?

In a bold move that could make a significant impact on the quality and length of Americans’ lives, a team of journalists at Hearst Newspapers have investigated and now printed a valuable exposé of what would appear to be one of the least-known problems with our healthcare system:  mistakes made in medical care is the leading cause of accidental death in America.  See their first article at “Dead by Mistake.”

Authorities put the number of deaths at about 100,000 per year from medical errors that occur in hospitals, and many believe that estimate is too conservative by half. 

Another 99,000 die from infections that they acquire while in the hospital, and that’s a statistic from the CDC.  And the death of 100,000 Americans per year is more than that from the yearly deaths from car accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS combined.

“Almost all of these deaths, experts say, also are preventable,” the article reports.

This fact has been known for at least ten years now, and several large organizations are working diligently with hospitals to make the quality of care more reliable, and medical care safer.  But this effort is moving slowly.

But what if each U.S. citizen took that medical error fact to heart, and then committed to being more involved in the healthcare of themselves and their loved ones?  It’s my belief that that one change would save more lives overnight than will ever be possible by trying to do it bureaucratically. 

It’s my goal for you to learn the right way to be involved, so that you and your loved ones can avoid these common, everyday healthcare error tragedies.  I’ve seen too many of these happen, and I’ve met too many family members who have lost a loved one.  After the fact, the pain is unbearable, knowing that it was a preventable death.

Please don’t become one of these statistics.  Yes, it’s more work for you to become more involved—but in the face of these facts, don’t you think it’s worth it?

My personal thanks to the many journalists and researchers who brought this information to light:

Principal writers on the “Dead by Mistake” Hearst project: Cathleen F. Crowley and Eric Nalder. Hearst project team: Olivia Victoria Andrzejczak, Kyla Calvert, Don Finley, Laurie Kinney, Terri Langford, Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, and Lance Williams. Hearst project editors: Phil Bronstein, David McCumber, Bob Port, Carmen Cano, Jacquee Petchel, Steve Gonzales, Dean Betz, David Sheppard, Audrey Lee, Wendy Wilk, Smiley Pool, Shaun Neville, Stephanie Milner, Lisa Stevens, and Joe Stalvey.  Hearst project contributors:  Debra Friedman, Paul Grondahl, Brian Lockhart, and Daniel Tepfer.  Hearst project research:  Kelly Guckian, Sarah Hinman, Julie Domel, George Hernandez, and Levi Pulkkinen.