Adverse patient outcomes at nursing homes in Missouri and nationally can cover a lot of territory. Bedsores — often referred to as pressure ulcers — are not an uncommon occurrence at nursing facilities. Stories from across the country chronicle with some regularity episodes of patient malnutrition and dehydration. Medication errors are an obvious source of concern in the industry....
Read MoreLyme disease, a tick-borne malady that can carry a real wallop for its flu-like and even more serious symptoms, is a concern in many states across the country, including Missouri. Here’s a particularly noteworthy problem associated with the ailment, as noted in a recent media article discussing it: The disease “can mimic dozens of other ailments,” which renders it...
Read MoreQuality of health care delivery proved to be a big issue in the just-ended off-year election. In some ways it might be considered a perennial favorite — one of those things that everyone talks about but which no one is quite sure how to resolve in order to improve conditions. While Missouri voters didn’t have anything on the ballot...
Read MoreEarly last month, the world lost a noted entertainer. Joan Rivers died. She was 81. Since then, there have been loads of questions about what exactly happened and whether medical error might have had something to do with the comedienne’s death. What’s known for sure is that Rivers went into a Manhattan clinic at the end of August for...
Read MoreNot all births go the way they are supposed to. Sometimes a baby presents in the breech position, feet or bottom first. Sometimes the baby’s head is a little too large for the mother’s birth canal. These may be instances in which the professional handling the delivery decides that the process needs an operative assist — that is, either...
Read MoreJust exactly how many people die as a result of mistakes in the hospital? It’s a hard figure to put your finger on. It seems to change every year — and not for the better. Back in 1999, the non-profit, non-government Institute of Medicine estimated that nearly 100,000 people were dying every year because of preventable errors in hospitals....
Read MoreA lot of the possible effects of brain trauma are known. When injuries are obvious, such as the type of traumatic brain damage that can result from a car or work accident, medical malpractice or a serious sports injury, victims can suffer a loss of physical ability. Mental and behavioral issues are not uncommon, either, and typically are watched...
Read MoreWe don’t hear much about mesothelioma or those lives that are claimed by it. That’s not too surprising. It is a rare form of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, only about 3,000 new cases are recorded every year in the United States. How many of those cases might be being identified in Missouri and Kansas isn’t easy...
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...
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