While critics long have ripped the Food and Drug Administration for its weak oversight of medical devices and its too cozy relationships with their makers, the federal agency and a Dutch global conglomerate have given millions of U.S. consumers a big, infuriating, prolonged exposure to just how bungled the oversight of this industry can be…..
Continue ReadingMedical Device Safety
FDA knew of, but didn’t act on little devices’ deadly racial problems
Until the coronavirus pandemic struck, few regular folks knew about pulse oximeters, much less had one on hand for urgent use. The devices, which fit over a finger, are supposed to give fast readings on the levels of oxygen in patients’ blood — a key measure of their respiratory wellness. But the devices, whether in….
Continue ReadingListen up: Lower-cost hearing aids, finally, are an option for millions without a prescription
Is it time for a glimmer of optimism about reducing at least one unacceptably high health care cost? Say hear, hear then, to the federal Food and Drug Administration’s removing the last regulatory block to consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss buying cheaper, easier to access, over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids — potentially as soon….
Continue ReadingWhen claims of harms rise, more corporations are diving into bankruptcy
They were a tortured part of the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis. They have become a painful aspect of the push to hold nursing home owners and operators accountable for the shambolic response to the coronavirus pandemic. And they soon may be an obstacle to military veterans’ attempts to get justice for defective devices….
Continue ReadingBaby formula mess shows big profits, a filthy plant, and bungled oversight
The giant drug maker Abbott and the federal Food and Drug Administration both should hang their heads in shame as more information becomes public as to how they left millions of vulnerable infants hungry and put kids’ health at risk by wrongs involving the manufacture and distribution of a vital foodstuff — baby formula. Millions….
Continue ReadingWho trusts profit-grabbing companies to prevent perilous supply snafus?
Americans keep suffering the dire consequences of corporations’ relentless pursuit of profits, their stifling of beneficial competition, and their failure to secure the production of their products. These now include desperately needed, specialized baby formula and contrast dyes used in diagnostic imaging studies for seriously ill and injured patients. A special place in perdition needs….
Continue ReadingAs recall of sleep apnea devices expands, U.S. prods firm to act faster
Federal officials have ramped up the pressure on a Dutch conglomerate over its expanding but slow recall of sleep apnea breathing devices relied on by millions of increasingly angry U.S. patients. The Justice Department has issued a subpoena to Royal Philips NV in preparation for an undetermined investigation of the company’s CPAP machines and their….
Continue ReadingMedical errors can be criminal, Tennesee nurse’s conviction shows
While nurses deserve patients’ gratitude and the highest praise for the valiant care they have provided during the coronavirus pandemic, a Nashville case has raised tough questions as to whether and when professional caregivers’ medical errors ought to be criminalized. Prosecutors decided that some mistakes rise to the criminal level, after considering the evidence against….
Continue ReadingWith a ‘Zoom boom’ still going, cautions rise on cosmetic surgery
While the coronavirus pandemic has forced patients, doctors, and hospitals to curtail crucial tests, procedures and treatments in worrisome fashion, a trend with one kind of medical practice apparently continues apace: The so-called “Zoom boom” in plastic and cosmetic surgeries is still going strong. Patients, though, soon will get a tough reality TV warning about….
Continue ReadingParents beware: Silicon Valley hypes inaccurate prenatal blood tests
Expectant parents have gotten an ugly exposure to a rapacious aspect of modern medicine: Over testing, over diagnosis, and over treatment, specifically with a new, fast-growing high-tech twist. The grownups — whether over-reaching to safeguard the unborn or in a simply silly way to determine the gender of their hoped-for bundle of joy — are….
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