A piece by a doctor in Salon.com puts the lie to claims from the medical industry that a dose of “tort reform” to curb medical malpractice lawsuits will lower medical costs and make for safer health care. Quite the opposite, as pediatrician Rahul K. Parikh, M.D. explains. Two short excerpts below from his article, which….
Continue ReadingArchives for October 2009
Where Are the Firing Offenses in Medicine?
The recent news about the two Northwest Airlines pilots whose licenses were revoked, less than a week after they let their plane wander 150 miles off course, raises the question: Where are the firing offenses in medicine? The pilots injured no passengers, and the event didn’t even qualify as a “near miss.” But because they….
Continue ReadingA Small Step Forward in Curbing Drug Industry Influence on Doctor Education
Most doctors have to take regular continuing education courses to maintain their medical licenses. But what if the courses have a hidden agenda — promoting the drugs of a sponsoring manufacturer? That hidden influence has occurred far too often for the comfort of patient safety advocates, who want prescribing doctors to receive fair, balanced and….
Continue ReadingRobotic Prostate Surgery: Surgeon’s Volume Is Critical to Outcome
Prostate surgery with a robot called “da Vinci” is often sold to patients as the latest and greatest technology and a way to get a better outcome. But on the key long-term complications — urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction — the “minimally invasive” robotic surgery may be no better than traditional surgery, and may be….
Continue ReadingDiscipline of Dangerous Doctors Is Still in Critical Condition in Texas
State medical boards are important agencies that can take away a license from a doctor who is dangerous to patients because of drug addiction, ethical lapses or incompetence. Routinely, however, the boards turn out to be focused more on protecting wayward doctors than protecting the public from malpracticing doctors. Here is how a new article….
Continue ReadingInfection Control: A Hospital Executive Speaks Out
The CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston is speaking out about his hospital’s efforts to prevent deadly infections. The question is: How come few other hospital executives are talking about their efforts? Are they not making vigorous efforts? Or are they obsessed with secrecy, as so many in the medical industry are?….
Continue ReadingAnother Quiet Hero of the Patient Safety Movement
Dale Ann Micalizzi took her 11-year-old son Justin to a hospital in upstate New York one evening because his ankle had an infection that needed to be drained. It was supposed to be a 10-minute procedure. Justin never woke up. That happened in 2001. Today, Dale and her husband Gary head up a non-profit group….
Continue Reading“Defensive Medicine” — A Mom’s Moving Response
A North Carolina mother who lost her 6-year-old son to preventable medical errors writes a moving response to talk of “malpractice reform” and “defensive medicine.” Laurie Sanders opens her story in the Charlotte Observer with these lines: Medical negligence isn’t a topic I gave much thought to until my 6-year-old son went to the hospital….
Continue ReadingPeople’s Pharmacy: Radio interview on patient safety
Patrick Malone was interviewed on the People’s Pharmacy radio show on how to avoid medical injuries and get the best care for you and your loved ones. You can listen to a podcast of the show by clicking here. The hosts of this syndicated public radio show are an interesting couple. Joe Graedon is a….
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