Why Are Florida Pharmacies Refusing To Fill Prescriptions?
The Florida Board of Pharmacy recently convened to discuss if patients are being denied legitimate prescriptions to control pain. Pharmacists are allegedly afraid of prescribing opiate-based pain medications to patients who might be hiding substance abuse problems. With accidental overdoses from powerful prescription medications killing tens of thousands every year, the reluctance is not surprising…. Read more »
Tags: MedicalNegligence
Posted in Medication Errors
Doctor Loses Medical Malpractice Lawsuit For Mocking Unconscious Patient
A jury has awarded more than $500,000 to a patient who was ruthlessly mocked by his anesthesiologist while unconscious and undergoing a procedure. According to the lawsuit, the unconscious man left his mobile phone on record while he was receiving a colonoscopy. His phone recording captured a disturbing example of unprofessional behavior by a health… Read more »
Tags: MedicalMalpracticeLitigation
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Security Experts Warn Hospital Medication Pumps Can Be Hacked
Security experts are warning health care providers that Hospira medication pumps are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Since 2007, hundreds of thousands of these pumps have been used around the world to help patients receive accurate dosages of medication. According to security experts, the pumps can be remotely operated to change the lower and upper limits of… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Is Telemedicine A Safe Alternative To Regular Care?
Walgreens and several insurance companies are starting to utilize telemedicine to offer patients a cheaper alternative to visiting an emergency room or doctor’s office. Smart phone applications and laptops will help patients connect with doctors via the internet in 25 states by the end of this year. In addition to national drugstore chains, several insurance… Read more »
Tags: Telemedicine
Posted in Medical Malpractice
What New Policies Can Protect Young Athletes From Concussions?
Earlier in June, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted new policies that can help prevent long-term complications associated with sports-related concussions. Under the policies, the AMA will develop new methods for treating concussions by developing age-specific guidelines. The policy will also recommend guidelines for recognizing and treating concussions in athletes. Concussions have become a widespread… Read more »
Tags: Concussions
Posted in Traumatic Brain Injuries
American Medical Association Targets Television Doctors
The American Medical Association (AMA) has taken a strong stance against doctors accused of giving bogus advice to millions of television viewers. Dr. Oz, who has his own television show with four million daily viewers, has become the most recent and public target of the AMA. AMA members are expected to create ethical guidelines for… Read more »
Tags: DoctorOzShow
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Florida Oncologist Charged With Giving Cancer Patients Unapproved Drugs
A Florida oncologist has been indicted for giving cancer patients unapproved medications for chemotherapy. According to federal health officials involved with the case, the oncologist had been giving her patients drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the last six years. Many of the drugs came from other countries at lower… Read more »
Tags: MedicalNegligence
Posted in Medical Negligence
Palm Beach Hospital Under Fire For Child Surgery Deaths
St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach has fired back at a CNN report alleging that its hospital has a mortality rate for pediatric open-heart surgery at three times the national average. According to the yearlong investigation from CNN, there have been eight infant deaths since the pediatric open-heart surgery program opened in 2011…. Read more »
Tags: NeverEvents
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Researchers Plan To Use Viruses In Fight Against Hospital Superbugs
Researchers are creating clever new ways to attack and destroy antibiotic resistant “superbugs” in hospitals. Molecular biologists with Tel Aviv University in Israel argue it is necessary to find new ways to fight bacteria, as some strains have become immune to antibiotics. Viruses could be used as an alternative for fighting antibiotic resistant bacteria such… Read more »
Tags: SuperBugs
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Why Do “Never Events” Happen?
Last week, we wrote a blog post on the future of surgical procedures and the widespread use of advanced robotics. In the post, we discussed how robots were so accurate they could perform brain surgery on one of the world’s smallest insects and had error rates of close to zero percent. Human error during surgery,… Read more »
Tags: NeverEvents
Posted in Surgical Errors
