Internal medicine specialists led the list, with 24% of all errors. Orthopedists were next at 22.4%, followed by general surgeons at 16.8% and anesthesiologists at 12.1%.

Reader's Digest offered two dozen doctors a chance to tell it like it really is, and general practitioners, surgeons, shrinks, pediatricians, and other specialists took the challenge.

Others at the top of the list are family physicians, internists, and general surgeons.