Administrators of hospitals in Missouri and all other states across the country that receive public dollars are unquestionably focused on the federal “Hospital Compare” website and the list of medical facilities nationally that have been deemed comparatively problematic. “Problematic” in this instance means that, when compared with other hospitals, a particular medical facility has what is considered a troublingly...
Read MoreGiven the huge and growing population of baby boomers and other aging persons across the United States, it seems only logical that nursing home-related stories encompassing a wide range of themes pop up consistently in media outlets. And, indeed, they do. And while commentators often take the necessary step of noting that many nursing home facilities across the country...
Read MoreA revolutionary change involving patients’ medical records has been taking place in Missouri and everywhere else across the country in recent years. That change has been strongly endorsed — and driven — by the Obama administration, with officials and health regulators consistently stressing that the replacement of paper charts and records by submissions in an electronic format will bring...
Read MoreIf you’ve ever been to a hospital or surgical center in Missouri or elsewhere for an operation and been subjected to the same battery of questions over and over prior to the onset of your procedure, don’t become frustrated or angry. Be thankful. There are very good — in fact, compelling — reasons for hospital staff members to ask...
Read MoreLay persons — that is, members of the general public — are not often intimately familiar with important details relating to the medical profession. For obvious reasons, that is hardly surprising. The practice of medicine is complicated by any measure. Those who can lawfully engage in it do so only after they receive due credentials following many years of...
Read MoreIn the course of recovering from a major medical event in the hospital, a patient may receive care from a large team of medical professionals. There are the doctors, of course. But nurses and nursing assistants, therapists and pharmacists all have a hand in the outcome. An added factor in the delivery of care is that on a given...
Read MoreIf a mechanic leaves a rag in the works of your vehicle’s motor, chances are you’d find out about it before you got it out on the road where something dangerous could happen. Unfortunately, the same can’t always be said if a surgeon leaves something behind in your body during an operation. Doctors might not like being compared to...
Read MoreIn 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act became law. The world of health care has not been quite the same since. Some may argue that most of the resulting change has been for the better. Many others, including some patients, might argue that HIPAA is more trouble than it’s worth. Every time you see a doctor it...
Read MoreThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 20 million people in the United States suffer from chronic kidney disease. Diabetics or individuals with elevated blood pressure are considered to be at higher risk than others of suffering the condition. In fact, the American Diabetes Association says diabetes is the main cause of end-stage kidney disease and...
Read MoreResearchers who study patient safety say that hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year as a result of errors in care delivered in the nation’s hospitals. Depending on who is offering up the numbers, death estimates run anywhere from about 200,000 to 440,000 annually. Making the numbers all the more disturbing is that these deaths are considered preventable....
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