HEALTHInjuries tally staggering personal and economic costsThe health industry is responsible for more injuries than construction and mining combined.By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. May 8, 2006. Washington -- Injuries take a tremendous toll on the health of the population as well as on the nation's economy. A wide variety of injuries that occur at home and at work bring many patients to their physicians' offices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently tallied the lifetime cost of such injuries and found that it tops $400 billion per year in medical expenses and productivity losses. About $80 billion is attributed to medical expenses, and the remaining $326 billion is estimated in lost wages, fringe benefits and the ability to perform normal household responsibilities. This amount was calculated from the approximately 50 million injuries that required medical treatment in 2000. The costs begin to mount when the injuries occur and are then spread over each injured person's lifetime. The data were compiled in the book The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States, released by the CDC April 18. Among its findings:
"Many of the nearly 50 million injuries that occur each year in the United States are preventable," said Ileana Arias, PhD, director of CDC's National Center of Injury Prevention. "To accomplish that, though, we need greater recognition of the value of our prevention efforts." [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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