Flutterby™! : Exploring the Harmful Effects of Healthcare

Journal of the American Medical Association: Exploring the Harmful Effects of Healthcare (PDF) (paid JAMA link).

Although the potential for harm is substantial, both physicians and patients generally embrace technology enthusiastically—implicitly trusting in its benefit before adequate assessment is made. However, higher-intensity care generally does not improve survival, and complications of medical care accounted for 1.1 million hospitalizations in 2006—costing nearly $42 billion.10 Medicare spending shows wide per-capita variability across the United States, with pa tients receiving 60% more care in high-cost than in low-cost cities. Paradoxically, patients in higher-cost cities are more likely to die of colon cancer, myocardial infarction, and hip fracture.