Healthcare providers need to know more about the efficacy and potency of hydromorphone, a pain killer frequently used as a morphine substitute in post-operative patients, to avoid medication errors and adverse drug reactions (ADR), says an advisory from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority (PPSA). Researchers hired by PPSA reviewed 1,694 medication error and 937 adverse….
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Malpractice in Over-Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
A long article in the New York Times brings home the dangers of women undergoing disfiguring surgery or radiation for breast cancer they never had. The story is a familiar one to malpractice attorneys but not well enough known to the public: The critical job of determining if breast tissue is cancerous or not is….
Continue ReadingA Life-Saving Number: The Nurse-to-Patient Ratio
The greatest fear for any patient in the hospital, and the biggest nightmare for their families, is that something will go wrong suddenly and no one will respond until it’s too late. Beeping monitors are no help if their alarms go unheeded. Patient safety experts know that one basic way to keep patients safe and….
Continue ReadingSurgery for Back Pain: Less Is More
Nearly every week, I hear about a patient who had surgery to relieve terrible chronic back pain and ended up far worse off than before. One of the biggest problems is that money motivates surgeons to talk patients into much bigger and more complex operations than they really need — and then those surgeries result….
Continue ReadingRemoval of Healthy Breast in Cancer Patients: Overtreatment or Peace of Mind?
More and more women with cancer in one breast are now opting to have the other healthy breast removed as well, even though the statistics show survival odds don’t improve by having both breasts removed and most patients end up with chests that are numb to sensation. Peace of mind is cited by many of….
Continue ReadingRobotic Prostate Surgery: Surgeon’s Volume Is Critical to Outcome
Prostate surgery with a robot called “da Vinci” is often sold to patients as the latest and greatest technology and a way to get a better outcome. But on the key long-term complications — urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction — the “minimally invasive” robotic surgery may be no better than traditional surgery, and may be….
Continue ReadingNew Patient Safety Report Cards in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in showing how public health authorities can cast a little disinfecting sunshine onto the patient safety practices of hospitals. In its latest report, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority says that in 2008, a total of 194 surgery patients were sewed up with a foreign object still inside them. They….
Continue ReadingVertebroplasty: Another Expensive Medical Fad?
Vertebroplasty is a popular surgical technique for treating patients who suffer “crush” fractures of their vertebrae due to osteoporosis, the loss of bone mass that often comes with old age. Two newly published studies suggest that this procedure is going the way of other medical “fads” that showed early promise but failed to show a….
Continue ReadingSurgical Stockings Found Ineffective at Preventing Blood Clots for Stroke Patients
In a study published this week in The Lancet, a British research team found that surgical stockings given to stroke patients for prevention of blood clots do not work, reports Sam Lister of UK’s Times. The compression stockings provide graduated pressure and should reduce swelling in the legs. Studies have shown that, for patients immobilized….
Continue ReadingCan Diet Beat Surgery in Protecting the Heart?
In 2008 alone, more than a million Americans underwent various coronary procedures, including balloon angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery. However, while these expensive measures can be lifesaving for some, they do not necessarily do a better job at protecting most people’s hearts than a heart-healthy lifestyle would, Jane Brody writes in the New York….
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