The incompetency and gross malpractice of Texas surgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch raised so much attention that you wonder why his neurosurgery practice in Dallas wasn’t mistaken for a chop shop. By the time his license to practice was revoked in June, two of his patients were dead and four were left paralyzed. People went on….
Continue ReadingArchives for September 2013
Neurologists Are Unaware of Epilepsy Drug Side Effects for Pregnant Women
Tegretol (carbamazepine) and Depakote (valproic acid) can be life-saving drugs for people who suffer from epileptic seizures. But these serious medications come with a host of potential side effects that might be unacceptable for pregnant women. Astonishingly, according to a study by Johns Hopkins published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior, 1 in 5 U.S…..
Continue ReadingObservation or Admitted? The Cost of Hospital Care Can Depend on Your Status
If you are covered by Medicare and you spend time in a hospital, how much you pay depends on whether the hospital calls you an inpatient or someone under observation. Even people under observation can spend several days in a hospital without achieving inpatient status, and that’s expensive. As explained by KaiserHealthNews.org, a recent government….
Continue ReadingThe Palm-Greasing Story Behind Generic Drug Shortages
We’ve written about drug shortages and how the problem doesn’t seem to be getting better. An op-ed last week in the New York Times by three medical professionals reconfirms the dire situation, offers insight about why it persists and suggests how to fix it. Margaret Clapp, former chief pharmacy officer at Massachusetts General Hospital, Michael….
Continue ReadingAn Objective Guide to Help You Choose Insurance Under the New Health Care Law
This week’s post in our series to help consumers understand the Affordable Care Act for health insurance (ACA, or “Obamacare”) that takes effect in January concerns how to choose a health plan. A recent study by Carnegie Mellon, according to NPR, showed that Americans’ knowledge of insurance fundamentals is … lacking. Only 14 in 100….
Continue ReadingWomen’s Breast Cancer Survey Shows Disbelief in Risk
As much as breast cancer has been in the news lately, with a tonnage of stories about the pluses and minuses of mammograms, about Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo prophylactic (preventive) mastectomy, you might think women understand their risks of developing the disease pretty well. They don’t. Or, perhaps more accurately, they don’t want to…..
Continue ReadingFDA Cautions Consumers About Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Michael Jackson did it. Tim Tebow did it. Countless patients in search of relief for ear infections, burns, traumatic brain injuries and a host of other ailments have done it. So does hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) work? According to Slate.com, probably not. At least not for those problems, nor a long list of others for….
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