We’ve written about the wide range of state authority and competence in regulating medical practice, (for example, here and here.) Mostly, compromised patient safety occurs because of official acts of omission; rarely does a state appear to commit to compromising patient safety. But as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and analyzed by Pop Tort,….
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Medical Director Gets Fired for Putting Patients First
In 2010, when he was hired as medical director of Bakersfield Family Medical Center (BFMC), a professional network, and then, a year later, at another, Communities Physician Network (CCPN), Dr. John S. McGee had a pristine, 20-year reputation in internal medicine. The physician networks are intermediaries among managed care plans. McGee did well with his….
Continue ReadingPharmaceutical Company Sued—Again—for Paying Kickbacks
Manufacturing an excellent product and marketing it well should ensure commercial success. A new lawsuit suggests that it wasn’t for Big Pharma player Novartis AG-the company was charged last month with fraud, allegedly for paying kickbacks to pharmacies that switched transplant patients from a less expensive generic drug to to its brand name med, Myfortic…..
Continue ReadingStudy of Premature Babies Failed to Inform Parents of Risks
Several prestigious universities, including Stanford, Duke and Yale, conducted a research study on behalf of the federal government to examine which of two levels of oxygen given to extremely premature babies was better at preventing blindness without increasing the risk of brain damage or death. The purpose and execution of the study were solid; the….
Continue ReadingWhen “Peer Review” Has Ulterior Motives
A federal judge this week upheld a jury verdict against the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, finding sufficient evidence for the jury’s decision that the AAOS acted with “reckless disregard for the truth” in publicizing its discipline of an orthopedic surgeon who had testified that another surgeon had committed malpractice. The decision was written by….
Continue ReadingNC Mom Speaks Out Against Secret Settlements of Malpractice Suits
When Laurie Sanders lost her 6-year-old son Christopher to a malpractice incident at a North Carolina hospital, she refused the hospital’s offer of settlement that would have required her to keep quiet about what happened. “I didn’t know how everything would end as far as the lawsuit, but I did know that it wouldn’t end….
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