Month: April 2013
Gene Patents Delay Research, Affect Every Patient
A potential decision made by the US Supreme Court on a current case regarding patenting human genes could affect the health and lives of every...
Surgical Complications Increase Profits, Decrease Reform
Hospitals may have little incentive to improve upon preventable surgical complications and mistakes because of the revenue they receive for longer stays and extra care...
Occasional Drink Okay During Pregnancy
While health officials advise abstinence, an occasional, small amount of alcohol during pregnancy may have zero effect on a child’s development, according to a recent...
Ohio Program Aims to Curb Hospital Readmissions
With hospital re-admissions costing the health care system more than $15 billion a year, a health coaching experiment in southern Ohio is aiming to lower...
Forty Superbug Cases in Ky. Hospital
Antibiotic-resistant superbugs dubbed “nightmare bacteria” by federal health officials have been found present in about 40 patients since July at a transitional-care hospital in Louisville,...
One Hospital’s Attempt to Stop Medical Errors
Medical mistakes that affect hundreds of thousands of patients in the U.S. every year are typically kept quiet by hospitals, but Brigham and Women’s Hospital...
5 Questions You Should Be Asking Your Doctor
In order to make the most of your annual physical exam, you should be spending more time having a conversation with your doctor in order...
Trucking Companies Deemed Unsafe, Shut Down
Two Atlanta-based trucking companies have been shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for failing to cooperate with safety investigators in the past...
Birth Injuries Increased By Tort Reform
Tort reform measures to reduce “defensive medicine” that will, in turn, increase the risk of birth injuries nationwide persist even after a recent report by...
ER Cost-Cutting Hurting Patient Care
Emergency rooms have largely been blamed for excessive health care costs, but popular cost-cutting measures may be doing more harm than good for patient care,...
Common Ailments Frequently Misdiagnosed
Common ailments like pneumonia and heart failure are the conditions most frequently misdiagnosed by primary care doctors and can lead to severe harm if not...
Medication Errors Decreased By Computerized Orders
Medication errors in hospitals that are both common and potentially fatal can be easily and substantially reduced according to a study published in the Journal...