Study: Medical errors third leading cause of US deaths

Editor's Note

An analysis of 8 years of data by Johns Hopkins University researchers finds that more than 250,000 people die annually because of medical errors, which translates to 9.5% of all US deaths each year.

The findings make medical errors the third leading cause of death. This surpasses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC's) third leading cause of death, respiratory disease, which kills 150,000 each year.

The researchers, led by Martin Makary, MD, say the CDC’s way of collecting national health statistics fails to classify medical errors separately on the death certificate. The researchers are calling for changes to that criteria.

Medical error is not included on death certificates or in rankings of cause of death. Martin Makary and Michael Daniel assess its contribution to mortality and call for better reporting The annual list of the most common causes of death in the United States, compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), informs public awareness and national research priorities each year.