Research shows that a surgeon who has been working for 24 hours is impaired as much as a drunk person in thinking and motor function. So should patients have a right to know if their doctor has been up all night? Yes, say a group of sleep researchers, who argued for full disclosure of sleep….
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When doctors and nurses disagree about a patient, who decides?
Doctors and nurses bring different values, different training, and different snapshots of patients to the process of care, so it’s no wonder they can disagree. Often the disagreements are not about technical issues but about basic human values where there is no clear right and wrong. Theresa Brown, R.N., has an excellent column in the….
Continue ReadingBotched. Belabored. Enough already. Fix the FDA and Philips recall
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 ReadingNursing home coronavirus cases and deaths decline as vaccinations increase
The campaign to vaccinate millions of residents and staff in the nation’s thousands of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities against the coronavirus is gaining momentum and showing early, positive effects. At the same time, however, information is emerging on shabby treatment of the vulnerable, including their exposure to illness exported into their facilities….
Continue ReadingU.S. must take more honest shot at battling this pandemic
As the nation recoils from the deadly insurrectionist attack on Congress and the United States Capitol, a direct line also must be drawn to the huge health harms that President Trump and his administration incited with a flood of falsehoods, relentless attacks on science and expertise, and the reckless politicization of public health. This administration….
Continue ReadingCan lives be saved with lessons learned from a space pioneer’s botched care?
Neil Armstrong served as a naval aviator, test pilot, federal administrator, and a university professor. He earned his place in history as space pioneer — the first astronaut to walk on the moon. The American hero, who spoke the legendary phrase about “one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind,” also now….
Continue ReadingHarsh new glare falls on fertility clinics’ booming business after major mishaps
Equipment failures in two clinics in Cleveland and San Francisco not only resulted in the loss of thousands of frozen human embryos and eggs, the incidents also have raised new concerns about safeguards and regulation of booming and costly fertility programs. Experts said the mishaps were uncommon, and they were hard pressed to explain how advanced….
Continue ReadingDoctors Fail to Explain Risks of Angioplasty
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a procedure to expand arteries and improve blood flow to the heart. Commonly known as angioplasty, it’s performed on more than 1 million people a year in the U.S. According to a new report in JAMA Internal Medicine, a lot of them are receiving insufficient information from their doctors about….
Continue ReadingInternal Medicine
Internists and family practitioners are the front-line primary care doctors whom we all see for checkups and treatment of routine problems. They are often the first doctors who examine us when we have something serious that may be life-threatening. They also act as the gateways and coordinators of specialty care. Malpractice can occur with a….
Continue ReadingSurgery: Exploring Your Options
Here are some suggested questions for your conversation with the surgeon before you make a final commitment: What’s the best possible outcome? (Sometimes it’s not so hot, and it makes you rightly question if the treatment is worth the pain and trouble and risk.) What’s the worst realistic outcome that you’ve seen? (I put in “realistic” because….
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