Medical errors are a serious problem and are estimated to be the 3rd cause of death in the USA. It is important to prevent them and patients and their advocates can help turn the tide. I am a cancer survivor and also a physician and was recently invited to give a lecture about medical errors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual meeting. Their Newsletter (ASCO Post) just published an article that summarized my presentation. It can be read at ASCO Post site at:

http://www.ascopost.com/issues/august-15-2012/a-physician,-who-is-also-a-ca ncer-patient,-talks-about-medical-errors.aspx

The previous lnik was broken.
The correct link is :
http://www.ascopost.com/issues/august-15-2012/a-physician,-who-is-also-a-cancer-patient,-talks-about-medical-errors.aspx

In case a shorter link helps anyone, this one goes to the same medical errors link:
http://bit.ly/NHXesh

To shorten any links, just go to bitly.com and follow easy instructions.

Culbert. Dr. Brooks is a well respected Dr and notable author, so respect is in order. Without knowing your own credentials, siting any published material to support your claims, nor showing proper etiquette in a discussion, I'd urge readers of this public forum to disregard your statements, and in the future expect to have them edited or deleted.

Actually culbert, medical mistakes can and do kill people who may not have otherwise died... this is a fact... medical ignorance, lackadaisical care and laziness within the hospital setting have all caused harm to come to patients and in some instances cost them their lives. I've had more dealings with the hospital these past few years than I would like to and frankly a patient advocate is primary these days as it's very easy to get lost by the wayside, or mistreated.

I used to be a nurse, and have had more than my share on instances where I've noticed that the outcome for a patient could have been totally different if their medical care providers were more on the ball.