St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland will pay $22 million to the federal government to settle claims that it engaged in a decade-long, illegal kickback scheme with the cardiology group MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates, which was co-founded by Mark G. Midei – the cardiologist accused of performing hundreds of unnecessary heart procedures. More than 100….
Continue ReadingArchives for November 2010
Fatigue Wears at Doctors’ Work Performance Too
The headline is not exactly shocking, so the real news may be why the issue of how long work days can cause doctors to make errors is so rarely studied. For nurses and residents (doctors in training), plenty of studies have found that when work days stretch beyond twelve hours, more mistakes are made, and….
Continue ReadingFDA recalls infusion pump and tissue stabilizer
The Food and Drug Administration has issued Class I recalls of Hospira Symbiq One- and Two-Channel infusers and Medtronic Octopus Nuvo tissue stabilizers. Class 1 recalls are the most serious type of recall and involve situations in which there is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or….
Continue ReadingOrganization reviews health care report cards so you don’t have to
Tired of reading doctor report cards and not knowing which ones to believe? Now there’s an organization that reviews the plethora of health care report cards available online in order to provide you with clear choices about the sites that really do provide accurate and useful information. The Informed Patient Institute provides detailed analysis of….
Continue ReadingCT Scan Screening for Lung Cancer: Saving Lives at a Big Pricetag, and Who Should Pay?
The news about a major government study that found 20 percent fewer deaths in a group of heavy smokers who got annual CT scan screening for lung cancer has a few more statistics that are sobering for the rest of us who pay the price as a society for this screening. The study enrolled 50,000….
Continue ReadingLarge number of drug shortages puts patients at risk
As many as 180 medications are in short supply so far this year, according to data from the the Drug Information Service (DIS) at University of Utah Health Care, which has tracked drug shortages for a decade. DIS calls the number of shortages this year “unprecedented.” Across the United States, life-saving or medically necessary drugs….
Continue ReadingHospital Malpractice: Saying They’re Sorry and Showing They Mean It
Victims of hospital malpractice hunger to be treated with respect as human beings by the hospitals who have destroyed or damaged their lives. A simple “we’re sorry” is a good first step, but only a first step. Some forward-looking hospitals are learning that implementing patient safety changes as part of the healing process makes good….
Continue ReadingMedical malpractice looms large in Illinois Supreme Court judge’s retention campaign
An Illinois Supreme Court judge who earlier this year voted to throw out a 2005 law that placed caps on the amount patients could receive in medical malpractice cases has raised $2.5 million for his retention campaign. Opponents of Tom Kilbride, who is running as an independent, have raised $650,000 to campaign against his retention…..
Continue ReadingSurgeon Leaves Trail of Malpractice Victims from Oregon to Australia
“Why didn’t they check?” That was the front-page headline in a Bundaberg, Australia newspaper about Dr. Jayant Patel, asking why the local hospital had hired Dr. Patel when he had already been the subject of medical discipline for patient deaths and injuries in Portland, Oregon. But tragically, the question wasn’t asked until Dr. Patel had….
Continue Reading