Patient Safety Blog

DC Medical Malpractice & Patient Safety Blog

• Putting a little ‘heart’ into public investments in health really can pay off February 14, 2019
  Take heart, Americans. Taking care of ourselves makes a difference, making us healthier — and saving us money.  New research supports policies for spending on the wellness of the elderly, improving heart care, and how smart interventions can reduce rising overall health costs. This evidence-based approach to figuring the government’s optimal role in individuals’ health […]
• Why are medical bills soaring? Blame a 42% hike in hospital prices. February 13, 2019
  Patients and reformers attacking skyrocketing health care costs may want to focus less on doctors and more on big, shiny hospitals, where in just five years prices soared by 42 percent for inpatient care versus the still sizable 18 percent price hikes that MDs scored. Those findings are part of a new study that examined […]
• OxyContin reformulation faulted in 222% spike in hepatitis C infections February 12, 2019
  Investigators have teased out yet another damaging thread in the villainous web of harms of the opioid crisis. A spike in hepatitis C infections is a costly, long-term, and major health consequence of the hype and disastrous reformulation of OxyContin, the powerful painkiller made by Purdue Pharmaceuticals owned by the wealthy Sackler family. Purdue, in […]
• Anti-vaxxer nonsense fueling dangerous measles outbreaks, officials fear February 11, 2019
  The 44th President implored the members of his staff that a key aspect of their collective success could be summarized by a simple notion: Don’t do stupid stuff. If only many more parents nationwide would concur — and shun the anti-scientific nonsense peddled by anti-vaxxers.  As the new year advances, public health officials across the […]
• FDA ripped for failures on e-cigarettes and flavors for vaping and smoking February 8, 2019
  The federal Food and Drug Administration failed to protect the nation’s young against Big Tobacco’s harms with slow-poke responses to the rise of e-cigarettes, as well as tardy regulation of flavorings for combustible cigarettes and liquids used in “smokeless” vaping, health advocates say. The American Lung Association, in its annual “State of Tobacco Control” report, […]