%0 Journal Article
%T To Err is Human: Can American Medicine Learn from Past Mistakes?
%A Jeffrey B Ritterman
%J Archive of "The Permanente Journal".
%D 2017
%R 10.7812/TPP/16-181
%X The history of medicine includes many errors. Some persisted for decades and caused great harm. Several are highlighted in this article, including the mythical thymic diseases: thymic asthma and status thymicolymphaticus. Some medical mistakes, such as the diet-heart hypothesis of Ancel Keys, continue to cause harm. To avoid future errors and their associated harm, I suggest a cultural shift encouraging professional humility and greater questioning of medical dogma. Medical education focused on teaching students this history may help with this cultural shift
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478585/