Doctors and Guns

1865 · 02-01-2005, 08:44 AM

DOCTORS

(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians pre year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Health Human Services.

Guns:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000. Yes, that is
80 million.
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups. is
1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than
gun owners

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS
AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors
before this gets completely out of hand.

Out of concern for the public at large, I have withheld the
statistics on lawyers for the fear the shock would cause people to panic and
seek medical attention...

James B · 02-01-2005, 09:45 AM

Good one.

statjunk · 02-01-2005, 09:59 AM

Sent it off to a bunch of anti-gun folks I know.

jdreddish · 02-01-2005, 10:11 AM

so much for that 2:30 appointment
I'm going to the range

duramaxlt · 02-01-2005, 04:58 PM

so basically 1 out of 6 doctors killed someone this year.i'm going to get an apple!!!!

chaco · 02-01-2005, 06:30 PM

Maybe doctors need to use "safer" tools - like dull scalpels, and diluted medications

Sixgun_Redneck · 02-01-2005, 07:31 PM

Thats a odd statistic. I sent it to most of my buddies.

Nomercy · 02-01-2005, 09:08 PM

Good thing I've got so many guns in my house, otherwise a robber might come in with a M.D. and kill me!!

Slamfire · 02-02-2005, 07:33 AM

MDs don't need the help of no robbers, they have billing departments. [:-]

Californiadoctor · 02-02-2005, 08:58 PM

That figure of 120,000 deaths caused by physicians is one that has been bandied about for several years now and has absolutely no basis in fact. I am not saying that doctors don't make lethal mistakes. In fact, I recall a case when I was an intern when another intern did make a very basic mistake that directly led to the death of a patient. But this is very much the exception and not the rule. I am certain that the 120,000 figure is exagerated by a factor of at least 10. The problem is that no matter how hard we try, not every patient can be saved, and when we fail to save a hopelessly ill patient there is often a tendency for some to claim that it was the doctor's fault that the patient died. Medicine could be safer and we are working to make it so but media reports on the number of deaths caused by physicians have no credibility.

Californiadoctor