The most frequent error in medicine

The most frequent error in medicine seems to occur nearly one out of three times a patient is referred to a specialist. Only 71 percent of patients age 65 or older who are referred to a specialist are actually scheduled to be seen by that physician. Furthermore, only 70 percent of those with an appointment actually went to the specialist's office. Thus, only 50 percent (70 percent of 71 percent) of those referred to specialist had opportunity to receive treatment their primary care doctor intended them to have, according to new findings.

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