Study finds 12 million people in US are being misdiagnosed annually

A recent study published in the British medical journal (BMJ) Quality & Safety, concludes that one in 20 patient or 12 million adults who visit doctors in US are being misdiagnosed annually. According to researchers, most medical errors (such as delayed cancer diagnoses or unnecessary surgeries) could lead to serious health issues and chronic conditions.

 

 

"It's important to outline the fact that this is a problem," says the leading author of the study Dr. Hardeep Singh."Because of the large number of outpatient visits, this is a huge vulnerability.

 

This is a huge number and we need to do something about it," he said in an interview with Reuters.

 

Keep in mind that conventional medical system is one of the leading causes of deaths in the United States.

 

In US alone, annually 12,000 people die due to unnecessary surgeries, 7,000 people die due to medical errors, 20,000 people die due to other errors, 80,000 people die from infections acquired at the hospitals and 106,000 people die from adverse side effect of medications.

 

"Not all misdiagnoses lead to any severe harm, but many do," Singh said. "We can extrapolate that almost half of these could cause some amount of severe patient harm."

 

As Ken Murray says “Almost all medical professionals have seen what we call ‘futile care’ being performed on people.

 

In an article titled “How Doctors Die”, Dr. Murray, (the Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at USC) talks about a doctor friend diagnosed with cancer that refuses to go through any medical treatments. The fact is that the patients will get cut open, perforated with tubes, hooked up to machines, and assaulted with drugs”.

 

Dr. Murray writes that “It’s not a frequent topic of discussion, but doctors die, too. And they don’t die like the rest of us. What’s unusual about them is not how much treatment they get compared to most Americans, but how little.

 

For all the time they spend fending off the deaths of others, they tend to be fairly serene when faced with death themselves. They know exactly what is going to happen, they know the choices, and they generally have access to any sort of medical care they could want. But they go gently”.

 

Currently the US spends more than $2.7 trillion dollars a year (which is 17% of its gross domestic product) on health care. Large medical bills that Americans cannot afford to pay are the reason behind 60% of personal bankruptcies. Amazingly, these are the people who already have insurance, but their coverage isn’t enough to enable them to pay their bills.

 

While the giant pharmaceutical and insurance companies make huge profits, Americans spend more and get less for their healthcare dollars year after year. In fact, in the last decade, 11 largest Pharmaceutical companies have made over $711 billion in pure profit.

 

The giant pharmaceutical and insurance companies are turning into a pack of hyenas crunching on bones of sick people:

 

 

The fact is that 8 biggest pesticide companies are also the world largest pharmaceutical (hyenas) companies and the world’s biggest biotech companies manufacturing and selling sickness. These companies are spinning out of control and FDA (who raids organic farms for selling raw milk) refuses to go after them.

 

The reason we do not know the potential dangers of pharmaceutical drugs until it’s too late (when a drug starts killing people) is because the pharmaceutical industry systematically hides this information from the public.

 

Even when a drug is banned for having severe side effects or killing people, pharmaceuticals find other ways to release the same drug under a different name into the market.   

Global cancer rates are expected to increase 50 percent by the year 2020:

A recent study by the World Cancer Report suggests that global cancer rates are expected to increase 50 percent by the year 2020.

 

The study points out that 10 million people have developed malignant tumors and 6.2 million have died from the disease just in the year 2000.

 

More than half of today’s cancer patients live in developing countries and According to Paul Kleihues, MD (Director of IARC and co-editor of the World Cancer Report):

 

“Cancer has emerged as a major public health problem in developing countries for the first time, matching its effect in industrialized nations. This is a global problem, and it’s growing.”

 

The report mainly suggests that stress, smoking, environmental pollutions and unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices are the main contributing factors behind many chronic diseases including cancer.

 

The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition:

 

Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding the disease or fighting against it. Americans today are consuming 600 more calories than before in form of high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, genetically modified wheat, soy, meat and potato.

 

While 50% of US farmlands are planted with soy bean and corn, only 3% of US farmlands are used to grow fruits and vegetables.

 

95% of US corn is replaced with genetically modified corn linked to a wide range of diseases including cancer.

Yet, GMO corn (that later on becomes Twinkies and junk food) is subsidized with your tax dollars. The profit margin of processed foods is about 90%, whereas profit margin for fresh products (fruits and vegetables) is only 10%. Even farmers that plant soy and corn think of them as a commodity rather than food.

 

What can we do?

 

Self re-education and family discussions are two of the best ways to change food habits and ultimately change eating habits towards a better and more nutritious healthy diet.

 

There needs to be more education at home to protect our children even if schools are unable or unwilling or unequipped to educate our children regarding health and fitness.

 

We also need to make healthy and nutritious foods cheap and available for an average class family and take back the control of our health and long term well-being.

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/us-usa-health-misdiagnosis-idUSBREA3G1S820140417

http://think.usc.edu/2012/03/08/how-doctors-die/