Hundreds of Americans keep dying each day due to the coronavirus. Tens of thousands of people across the country are reporting they are newly infected with the disease, even as at-home testing lowers this count. Thousands of patients still are hospitalized due to the virus that has killed at least 1 million in this country…..
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Opioid crisis takes a new scary turn: Mass casualties at once
The opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis has veered into a frightening new phase in which the rise of the easy-to-make, exceedingly powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl is causing multiple, interconnected deaths at one time. The nation’s capital already has experienced this grim situation, which only shows signs of worsening, the Washington Post reported on April….
Continue ReadingAs U.S. shatters death record, trauma and grief grow unrecognized
Death has not taken a holiday in this country. It has, instead, had a field day, with 2021 breaking records, recording 3.465 million American lives lost — 80,000 more than in history-setting 2020, federal statisticians say. The coronavirus pandemic gets much of the blame for the nation’s grim toll, which was made all the worse….
Continue ReadingNew focus on battling long Covid underscores infection’s persistent risk
Even as the coronavirus pandemic’s pause shows signs of faltering, medical experts are continuing their deeper digs into the novel infection’s long-term effects including how to treat debilitating long and medium Covid and the calamitous intersection between Covid and chronic conditions like diabetes. The Biden Administration — taking fierce criticism for not acting sooner and….
Continue ReadingDC budgets for major plans to tackle rising problems in road safety
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the District of Columbia, continues to push for ways to deal with a major menace for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists in the nation’s capital: road safety. Her latest $19 billion budget, the Washington Post reported, includes sizable spending for upgraded bike-share intersections, more bikeshare stations, and building additional bike and….
Continue ReadingHedge funds under fire as doctor wins $26 million case on short-staffing
Medical leaders and politicians carp endlessly about medical malpractice suits, but when an emergency medical specialist diagnosed staffing shortfalls that threatened patient safety, guess what legal mechanism became crucial to his corrective crusade? Why, yes, of course, it was a lawsuit. A big one over wrongful termination. Let’s not over-focus on the irony of a….
Continue ReadingEven if pandemic lull lasts, more health care challenges are coming
The coronavirus pandemic does not have a magical on-off switch, and even if its current lull turns out to be longer lasting — and signs suggest this may not be so — the lethal infectious outbreak will keep sending shocks through the U.S. health care system that will affect us all. Experts are expressing growing….
Continue ReadingAlcohol abuse spiked during coronavirus pandemic, killing 100,000
Alcohol abuse blew up from a rising concern to a significant killer during the coronavirus pandemic, with 100,000 Americans losing their lives to booze-related causes, a 25% increase year-over-year in the first 12 months of the global infection’s outbreak. The figures from research newly published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows the….
Continue ReadingIn pandemic lull, the push is on for shots for kids and older adults
After months of experiencing how the coronavirus vaccines safely can slash infections, avert serious illnesses that can lead to hospitalizations, and prevent epic numbers of deaths, young and older patients soon will be asked to show (again) their confidence in the life changing and life saving value of Covid-19 shots. The pandemic-weary U.S. public, though,….
Continue ReadingPatient safety’s new perils: Lack of medical staff and their mental wellness
The coronavirus pandemic and the wrenching demand this public health nightmare has put on the U.S. health care system and its people have become such a worry that staffing shortages and workers’ mental health have become top safety concerns in 2022. That is the evidence-based view of ECRI, aka the nonprofit, independent Emergency Care Research….
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