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Flagging medical errors and emphasizing lack of punishment by maintaining anonymity leads to more reporting of errors. There are 100,000 deaths from medical errors annually according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). A study published in the November 21 issue of Pediatrics showed that reports increased from 13 over 2.5 years to 216. However, none of the reports...

MDs rarely disclose the known side effects of a medication with their patients. The medical system expects to use drugs and because it is the primary form of treatment, MDs resist discouraging patients from using drugs.                

MDs generally don't admit their mistakes unless they are caught. There are a lot of potential repercussions from bringing a mistake into the limelight. Mistakes are actually very common.          

When you have a side effect from a medication you can report it to the FDA yourself; MDs have a history of not reporting side effects to the FDA They are simply too busy. This is especially problematic when patients are on a multitude of drugs; which one caused the problem? The example of side effects from statins is described. The number to call is 1-800-FDA-1088.          

  Not every hospital is the same and outcomes are different. You can get this information on the Internet. The differences in survival and quality of life are substantially different. There is a tendency for MDs to not report mistakes, especially if it can be covered. The consequences can be devastating to the MD. There are about 100,000 deaths from...

The Institute of Medicine calculates that there are 50-100,000 unnecessary deaths in the US every year. This number is likely much higher because of under-reporting. Personalized health care and working with causes rather than suppressing symptoms. We also need to work together...integratively.          

Doctors generally don't report medication errors because there's so much fear when a mistake is made. Practicing medicine is very difficult and doctors need to be fully engaged with their patients, rather than detached and scientific. MDs have their own lives that are filled with challenges and this takes away from giving their full attention; errors are more...