One of the things that likely strikes many visitors to hospitals and medical clinics as being predominantly impressive is the high-tech capability that fairly exudes in such specialized environments. Put another way: Most lay persons might not know exactly what that machine is that was just rolled into a room, but they can immediately see that it is the...
Read MoreAs a recent commentary from a national news outlet notes, it shouldn’t be remotely surprising that, when it comes to the implementation of electronic health records systems (EHRs) across the country, the military should have singular and outsized problems. After all, the military is a singular establishment with special concerns and considerations that simply don’t exist in the civilian...
Read MoreNina Pham says that she didn’t want to commence litigation against the parent company of the hospital that still employs her; rather, she says that circumstances forced her to do so. “I felt I was left with no choice but to turn to the courts for help,” she said recently, following the filing of a civil lawsuit against Texas...
Read MoreThe sad saga regarding contaminated endoscopes goes on. We last left off with this high-profile and nationally important health-related story in our February 23 blog post, informing readers therein that tainted scopes used to detect and treat digestive disorders resulted in the deaths of two patients at one California hospital. Additionally, several other patients at that facility were infected...
Read MoreAs a segue to today’s blog post, our readers in Missouri and elsewhere might logically want to take a look at one of our earlier entries, namely, our January 27 post. The title of that entry focusing upon endoscopes used in the treatment of digestive ailments poses this very direct question: “Does disinfecting absolutely ensure cleanliness?” In that wake...
Read MoreThe United States is a nation composed of sports fanatics. Although not every person across the country spends each weekend firmly ensconced on the sofa watching his or her favorite sport, of course, scores of millions of fans do precisely that. The recent Super Bowl was certainly evidence of that, with various media outlets reporting that more than 114...
Read MoreIs there a time limit for filing a malpractice case? You bet there is, and a would-be malpractice plaintiff had better stay on top of the details in order to not jeopardize his or her legal claims. In fact, all states have statutorily enacted statutes of limitation laws that grant repose to potential defendants after a certain stated period....
Read MoreA widely quoted and oft-cited medical report from 1999 estimating that close to 100,000 patients in hospitals across the country were dying each year from preventable medical mistakes was flatly eye-opening to the public. It was also likely erroneous, being refuted by various later studies, including a recent finding that well more than 400,000 people might be prematurely dying...
Read MoreA Missouri-based story does not yet prominently feature alongside other recent tales concerning frightening outcomes associated with endoscope use. In time, though, that could change. A “deadly pattern of illnesses” was recently noted in a media expose concerning the use of so-called duodenoscopes that are inserted down patients’ throats to probe for digestive disorders such as gallstones and cancerous...
Read MorePart of the bait extended by government officials to doctors to entice those physicians to vigorously participate in the transformation from paper medical records to digital patient records has been money. And no small amount. Doctors who have transferred over to electronic health records and demonstrated “meaningful use” of such systems have reportedly received about $9 billion in federal...
Read More