MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND WASTEFUL MEDICARE SPENDING

You might ask, "what in the world does medical malpractice and Medicare expenditures have in common?" Good question and here is the answer.

One in every seven hospitalized Medicare patients are harmed by treatment mistakes, according to new analysis by the Department of Health & Human Services released Tuesday.

The report cites a variety of "adverse events" or causes for treatment errors, including excessive bleeding after surgery, urinary tract infections linked to catheters and incorrect medications. Researchers estimate that these types of adverse events contribute to 15,000 deaths per month or 180,000 deaths each year, according to the report.

"The country is in a patient safety crisis," said David Arkush, the director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch Division in a statement.

My Take: Stop the malpractice by following evidence-based medicine and stop paying the hospitals and doctors who injure their patients by committing malpractice.