Hargrove and Bowman analyzed 4.9 million cause of death records for 2005 and 2006 to document wild fluctuations in what doctors say kills Americans. The patterns support what medical experts have documented in smaller studies — at least a third of death diagnoses around the country are wrong. The conclusions are sometimes fraudulent, but more often the result of doctors who lack the training or time to conduct a proper review. In many places, autopsies are almost never done for deaths that are not under criminal investigation.
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