Hospital Stays Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Hospital Stays are the 8th Leading Cause of Death in the United States

By: Russell Blaylock, MD
Odds are high that at some point in your life, you'll need to go to the hospital.You could be struck down by an illness or an injury ”” or perhaps just require some complicated elective surgery.
Whatever the case may be, a hospital visit should not be taken lightly.

Beyond the potentially life-threatening reasons you might enter the hospital, many new perils and pitfalls await you once you're admitted.Here are just a few facts that hospitals don't want you to know:

FACT: Hospital complications and errors comprise the 8th leading cause of death in the U.S. (exceeding even motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer and AIDS).

FACT: Hospital-acquired infections account for 100,000 American deaths each year.

FACT: Medical complications kill 30,000 more people a year (and cost us over $9.3 billion).

FACT: Medication errors lead to 7,000 deaths annually.