The death toll from avoidable medical errors

Quickly now, which causes more deaths in the US every year: avoidable medical errors or auto accidents?

I guessed auto accidents too, probably because car carnage is in the headlines every day. But a new study reports that it's medical errors. They're responsible for more than 200,000 deaths annually, the study says. And these are all preventable deaths.

More widespread technology for linking medical records, which is supposed to be part of that health insurance reform legislation currently being "debated" at top volume all over the country, might help prevent errors. But it might not. One expert says there are a growing number of reports of medical mistakes due to computer errors.

Read all about it at Scientific American's 60-second Science Blog.