The last place anyone imagines they will get a severe infection is at a hospital. Yet according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1.7 million people are affected by a nosocomial or hospital-acquired infection (HAI) every year. The severity of the infection can widely vary, but these infections are also responsible for over 99,000 deaths…
Read MoreUndergoing surgery can be a very stressful situation for a patient, especially considering the kind of surgery that is involved. Patients put their trust in their surgeon/doctor and their staff to carry out a successful, professional surgery. When a doctor injures a patient in an operating room error, the results can be devastating. Below are the five most common operating…
Read MoreAnesthesia is absolutely essential in most major or minor surgical procedures. Both the patient and doctor benefit greatly in that the patient feels nothing, while the doctor has a still patient to work with. But despite being such a common staple in many surgical procedures, anesthesia errors are very common and when they occur, the result could be devastating. Anesthesia…
Read MoreMedical Care in Pittsburgh — Why So Costly? One of the most significant reasons for the high cost of health care in the Pittsburgh area is the high rate of expensive hospitalizations for what are called “ambulatory care sensitive” conditions. That’s according to Harold D. Miller, professor of public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University, and president of Future…
Read MoreThe birth of your child should be a joyous occasion. However, if your doctor’s negligence results in a medical mistake, a birth injury can occur, and you’ll be quickly robbed of your joy. To say the least, an injury to your child is devastating. But it’s even more devastating if your child’s injury is permanent. Birth injuries, physical or mental,…
Read MoreThree hours to save your life. If you’re the victim of an ischemic stroke, that’s all the time you have. According to the Mayo Clinic, if you’ve suffered an ischemic stroke, intravenous, clot-busting drugs must be given to you within three hours. Treatment within this three-hour window not only increases your survival chances, but it may also decrease your post-stroke…
Read MoreTemporary Agencies Often Employ Incompetent Nurses The Los Angeles Times reports some firms that supply temporary nurses to the nation’s hospitals are taking shortcuts in their screening and supervision. An investigation found numerous instances in which staffing agencies skimped on background checks or ignored warnings from other hospitals. These practices put seriously ill patients in the hands of incompetent…
Read MoreA healthy newborn is every parent’s number one concern. And if you’re a parent facing a breech birth, you trust your doctor to properly and sufficiently address these concerns. In the case of a breech birth, which can be difficult and dangerous, you trust your doctor to manage the risks and safely deliver your baby. However, with a breech birth,…
Read MoreYou’ve likely heard of a misdiagnosis. This occurs when a doctor mistakenly diagnoses an illness. An underdiagnosis is different from a misdiagnosis. It happens when doctors diagnose a disease less often than it’s actually present. An overdiagnosis, however, occurs when a doctor diagnoses a disease, but the disease will never present symptoms or result in death. To put it simply,…
Read MoreSurgical malpractice is still a risk: Don’t let modern technology fool you. While “laser surgery” implies precision and “outpatient surgery” sounds easy, surgical malpractice hasn’t gone away. Surgeons still make mistakes: sometimes, deadly mistakes. A Johns Hopkins study showed that medical mistakes, ranging from medication errors to surgical complications, are now the number three cause of U.S. deaths, ranking just…
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