From the report “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System” done by the Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM)

IOM estimates that 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die each year not from the medical conditions they checked in with, but from preventable medical errors.

A medical error, under the report's definition, could mean a health-care provider chooses an inappropriate method of care, such as giving a patient a certain asthma drug without knowing that he or she was allergic to it.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that fully half of adverse reactions to medicines are the result of medical errors.

The statistics in the IOM report, which were based on two large studies, suggest that medical errors are the eighth leading cause of death among Americans.

The numbers in the report don't tell the whole story, its authors acknowledge. People in the hospital are just a small proportion of those at risk. Doctors' offices, clinics, and outpatient surgical centers treat thousands of patients each day; retail pharmacies fill countless prescriptions; and nursing homes and other institutional settings serve vulnerable patient populations.

"Whether a person is sick or just trying to stay healthy, he or she should not have to worry about being harmed by the health system itself," its authors say.

Name confusion is among the most common causes of drug-related errors, says Peter Honig, M.D., an FDA expert on drug risk-assessment.

From the website justaskourdoctors.com

Patients win only 38% of all medical malpractice cases tried to juries in this country. Each year more than 98,000 Americans die from Hospital Medical Errors. 1,000,000 more are injured from medical errors.

From the website pwydhealthrecord.com
Quoted from “Lead Your Way to better Healthcare” by Margo Corbett

One study revealed 13.6 percent of doctor visits were missing test results and other documents; 44 percent of patients were adversely affected; and 59.5 percent received delayed care or duplicate services, adding cost to the system (Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA], February 2005).

A National Patient Safety Foundation national poll revealed 42 percent of respondents had been affected by a medical error either personally or through a friend or relative. Of that 32 percent reported permanent negative effects on their health.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHQR) cites research that shows the majority of medical errors are preventable; 70 percent of adverse events found in 1,133 medical records were preventable.

A study of adverse drug events among ambulatory older people reported 27.6 percent were preventable; 58.4 percent of the 27.6 percent occurred at the prescribing stages (JAMA, March 2003).

1.5 million people experience a medication error each year.

Studies show the majority of medical errors are preventable, and patients who take an active role in their health care have better outcomes.