Modern medicine is far less likely to kill you than ever. Operating techniques are constantly being refined, technology has made keyhole surgery a reality, and new drugs and sterilization techniques have helped to reduce the risk of infection in medical facilities everywhere. However, all that progress comes at a price; antibiotic resistant bacteria are making [...]
Once Johns Hopkins declared that medical errors were the third leading cause of death in the U.S., we saw a decided uptick in the questions our clients would ask about what, exactly, constitutes a medical error. We also noticed more and more people talking about the safety of the procedures they undergo, and wondering who [...]
There are some acts of medical negligence that are so outrageous that there can be no excuse whatsoever for them. These are commonly referred to as “never events,” as in they never should have happened. Back in 2007, the Leapfrog Group started tracking the data on these events. In 2015, they released their findings: that [...]
For years, scientists and doctors have studied Alzheimer’s as a (sometimes genetic) condition affecting the brain. The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease with no cure and no way to determine whether or not a person will develop it, unless it is one of the rare genetic forms. A person with [...]
When we think of medical malpractice, we think first of errors made by doctors – an incorrect test reading here, a nicked artery during surgery there. But according to Medscape, it is the way in which an electronic health record (EHR) is filled out that leads to errors. The EHR has replaced the old-fashioned, hand-written [...]
The country’s largest medical malpractice insurer is called The Doctors Company, and they have released new data indicating that electronic health records, or EHRs, are becoming increasingly common in medical malpractice claims. In fact, they say that claims involving EHR errors or problems have essentially doubled over the last year. These errors are affecting patients’ [...]
A measure was passed in New York that would eliminate handwritten prescriptions completely and significantly curtail phone-based orders. The expansion of the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act (I-STOP) law would go into effect on March 27, 2015, and is the first of its kind in the country. Now, the American Medical Association (AMA) is [...]
Ziprasidone is an anti-psychotic drug marketed under the name Geodon, and it prescribed to treat people with schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. In December of 2014, the FDA issued a warning that Geodon and its generics could cause a “rare but serious skin reaction that can progress to affect other parts of the body” known as [...]
We wrote about an abortion practitioner named Steve Brigham back in October, 2014. Brigham had his license to practice pulled after multiple complaints about his practice and his facilities came to light. Now a new story has come about regarding a 2013 case involving abortionist Dr. Timothy Liveright of Delaware. Liveright surrendered his license after [...]
We recently spoke about a case regarding a man named Charles Williams who suffered an apparent mental break, which led to his being shot to death by police officers. On November 21, 2014, the Court of Appeals ruled that “Health care providers are immune from liability both when they evaluate and involuntarily admit an individual [...]
