VOA慢速英语--医疗事故是美国死亡的第三大原因

AS IT IS 2016-05-16 Medical Mistakes, Third-Leading Cause of Death in US 医疗事故是美国死亡的第三大原因

A new report says medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, say medical errors cause more than 250,000 deaths every year.

If the research is correct, it means deaths caused by doctors’ errors are greater in number than deaths by respiratory disease.

That number also is higher than the 150,000 deaths yearly reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC keeps the official statistics about causes of death in the U.S. The Johns Hopkins researchers say the CDC's way of collecting data “fails to classify medical errors separately on the death certificate.”

Dr. Martin Makary is a professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also an authority on health reform. He says there is no standardized¹ method for collecting national statistics about such medical care problems.

The CDC’s methods for following medical-error deaths were adopted in 1949, according to the researchers. They say the record-keeping needs to be changed to account for medical mistakes.

Dr. Makary said, "At that time, it was under-recognized that diagnostic errors, medical mistakes, and the absence of safety nets could result in someone's death."

He added, "medical errors were unintentionally excluded from national health statistics" for that reason.

The researchers studied death rate data from 2000 to 2008. They then took information about hospitalization rates from 2013. Using that data, they determined³ that medical errors caused 251,000 deaths each year out of more than 35 million hospitalizations.

This, researchers say, represents 9.5 percent of all deaths in the U.S. each year.

In 2013, the CDC said heart disease was the leading cause of death in the U.S., followed by cancer and respiratory disease.

"Top-ranked causes of death as reported by the CDC inform our country's research funding and public health priorities," Dr. Makary said.

"Right now, cancer and heart disease get a ton of attention, but since medical errors don't appear on the list, the problem doesn't get the funding and attention it deserves," he said.

The researchers warn that medical errors are not the same thing as the work of bad doctors. They say medical mistakes are the result of problems in medical systems and the coordination⁴ of care and insurance coverage⁵.

The study says its findings should help raise awareness⁶ about the problem and support research to prevent medical errors.

Words in This Story

respiratory – adj. having to do with the system of breathing

authority – n. someone who is an expert in a subject

diagnostic – adj. relating to identifying sickness or disease

absence – n. the lack of something

unintentionally – adv. done without meaning to, not planned or intentional²

statistics – n. numerical information often about how many or how often something is done

data – n. information

1 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

2 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。