Medical Errors Are No. 3 Cause Of U.S Deaths, Researchers Say

A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine says medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States — and highlights how shortcomings in tracking vital statistics may hinder research and keep the problem out of the public eye.

The authors, led by Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Martin Makary ^[1], call for changes in death certificates to better tabulate fatal lapses in care. In an open letter ^[2], they urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to immediately add medical errors to its annual list reporting the top causes of death.

Full article and audio from NPR.