> In a critical commentary, the co-editors-in-chief of the journal BMJ Quality & Safety wrote that the paper’s “headline-friendly” mortality rate — which was 10 times the rate suggested by prior studies — was so implausible that it risked undermining confidence in the entire field of patient safety research.

> Yet the notion that medical errors are the third leading cause of death persists. It’s trumpeted by patient safety advocates and trial attorneys, and became a line on a TV show. News stories continue to cite it.

Also the academic article here is simply a response to another academic article supporting the 3rd leading cause of death:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?author=MA+Makary&a...

Which academic has it right? The study you shared is critical of the sources used in the first, but also provides no new data sources. It’s simply skeptical about the rates.

That’s why death reportings tend to use “died with X”. I understand that there is a sensitivity to ascribe liability or fault. But if someone dies in recovery from a surgery, or worse under anesthesia, that seems like something that could be identified and reported.

We do (for example: https://www.cdc.gov/healthcare-associated-infections/index.h...), but there's significant difference between "malpractice" and "died due to surgical/anesthesia complications". Perfectly administered anesthesia is still risky, which is why we don't give it for, say, mole removal.

To butcher a Rick & Morty quote, "that just sounds like malpractice with extra steps".

What im wondering is why the general public doesn’t know that surgery isn’t an absolute good.