A shocking headline recently claimed that every year 250,000 people in the U.S. die after misdiagnosis in the emergency room. Even more shocking, the statistic was extrapolated from the death of one man—in a Canadian emergency room more than a decade ago. The figure comes from a Dec. 15 report by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. The AHRQ, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, produces research to improve healthcare in America.

---