The First Law Of Medicine Poem by Paul Hartal

The other day I received an email
from an old friend, a former classmate.
Among other things, he wrote me
that his neighbor
was hospitalized for heart problems.
The man was transported from one place
to another and in the process
he became infected with coronavirus
and he died.

The tragedy reminded me
that since ancient times,
the first rule of medicine has been:
"Primum non nocere", a Latin phrase
which means, "First Do No Harm."

Unfortunately, and despite the dedicated
and often heroic work of doctors and nurses,
medical errors and injurious outcomes
of treatments are quite common.

There is even a medical term for this:
Iatrogenesis. It denotes harmful clinical
complications, as well as hospital errors,
adverse drug effects, unnecessary surgeries
and interventions.

Iatrogenesis is a leading cause of death
around the globe. In North America
more than a quarter million of people die
every year as a result of it.