In the last few decades, the number of ectopic pregnancies has seen a dramatic increase. According to a 2002 Obstetrics and Gynecology-published study, approximately 40% of pregnancies that are diagnosed as ectopic are later shown to be normal intrauterine pregnancies. In 2014, there were 14 pregnancy-related lawsuits filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Every year, approximately 440,000 people in the United States are killed every year as a result of hospital, physician, and nurse errors. According to Diederich Healthcare’s 2013 Medical Malpractice Payout Analysis, $3.6 billion was spent in medical malpractice payouts. This accounted for 12,142 total malpractice payouts, which is one every 43 minutes.
The most common surgical procedure in hospitals in the United States is caesarean sections. The national c-section rate was 32.9% in 2009 and in 2014, it was 32.2%. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, there are significant improvements as the c-section rate tops 10%, but there is no evidence that there will be a continual improvement in health care quality once the rate in a country exceeds 15%.
Most New Yorkers have probably heard the term “informed consent,” but they may not be familiar with what it means to their health care. According to the American Medical Association, informed consent means that patients must be given information about a recommended treatment, its benefits and its side effects so they can make an educated choice about their medical care. However, standard practices for informed consent vary among states, and there are competing interests which may leave patients at a disadvantage.
Every year, millions of medical errors occur across the United States. There has been a significant increase in the number of people getting treatment for medication errors in recent years – an increase of more than 50%. As per the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, over 1.5 million people across the country became injured or ill due to the side effects of medication or because they were prescribed or took the wrong dose or type of medication in 2008.
