Why A Former Microsoft Engineer is Determined to Improve Hospital Safety
The Seattle Times recently published the story of a former Microsoft engineer who was left paralyzed from the chest down due to a medical mistake. According to The Seattle Times, the engineer had suffered from ankylosing spondylitis, a condition that causes the spinal cord to become inflamed and brittle. The condition can also cause spinal… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Can Predatory Bacteria Halt the Spread of Superbugs?
Superbugs are antibiotic resistant bacteria that researchers suggest may kill 10 million people every year by 2050. The threat posed by superbugs is so serious that some researchers have compared it to global warming. World health organizations are calling for an ‘antibiotics revolution’ to stop the spread and development of new superbugs. Such a revolution… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Why Patients Are at Risk of Medication Errors During Hospital Discharge
Medication errors are an increasingly common threat to patients being discharged from hospitals. Four years ago, researchers at Harvard Medical School conducted a study on medication errors and hospital discharges. Researchers used 851 hospital patients undergoing treatment for heart disease to assess the scope of the problem. Half of the patients experienced medication errors during… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Bad News: Medical Mistakes Become the Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
New research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claims medical mistakes have become the third leading cause of death in America, right behind cancer and heart disease. In a strange twist of irony, it seems hospitals may be among the most dangerous places for your health. A similar study published in 1999 discovered medical… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Can Electronic Health Records Help Your Medical Malpractice Case?
Many hospitals around the country have beefed up their technological infrastructure by adopting electronic health records (EHRs). EHRs can pull the medical histories of patients with ease. For example, EHRs may contain which medications patients are on, demographic information, known allergies and prior health conditions. Having such detailed information can also be beneficial for medical… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
How Google Will Use Advanced Apps to Improve Patient Safety
Google is planning to use DeepMind, one of its acquired artificial intelligence companies, to improve patient safety for the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). The app, named Streams, will identify tasks doctors and other health care providers must perform to prevent patients from succumbing to kidney failure. Streams will have full access to the… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
3 Reasons Why Hospital Transparency is Good for Patient Safety
Earlier this week, we discussed the tragic deaths that occurred at St. Mary’s Medical Center. CNN’s investigation shows that from 2011 to 2013, the hospital maintained a death rate of 12.5 percent for its pediatric heart surgery program. If parents had known about the high death rate, would they have chosen another hospital? Transparency can… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Florida Hospitals Fined for Medical Errors and Infections
After the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare started a policy of reviewing hospital safety and docking institutions with safety violations. The Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction Program (HACRP) aims to reduce the high number of hospital-acquired infections and medical errors. This year, Medicare reduced payments to 758 hospitals by 1 percent for safety issues… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
The Importance of Giving an Accurate Medical History
Our medical histories tell doctors a great deal about us, our families, and our medical future. Medical histories let doctors know the types of medications patients can take, which conditions they have or might develop, and how to treat existing health problems. In many ways, accurate histories help prevent medical mistakes. When doctors have incorrect… Read more »
Tags: HealthcareNews
Posted in Medical Malpractice
