When you go to a hospital, you expect the best care possible. Hospitals usually display a lot of lighter colors and white linens, almost as a way of symbolizing some sort of clean or pure atmosphere -- that this is where you go to be well. And yet, the reality is...
A disturbing matter was brought to our attention by Bloomberg, who investigated the notion that doctors who had lost their medical licenses due to misconduct were still being given money by Medicare. That's right: doctors who broke the law or were medically negligent...
Hospitals and doctors not only have an obligation to properly diagnose patients; medical professionals are also obliged to promptly inform patients of medical conditions. Doctors' keeping diagnoses to themselves is not an option. This standard of care also applies...
In medicine, early detection is often a life saver, and in many cases, the earliest opportunity to detect an illness is not in a hospital room, but in a clinic or a doctor's office during a routine checkup. It's disturbing to think, then, that each year as many as 12...
No matter what the setting, accurate diagnosis is crucial to effective medical care. It doesn't matter whether the doctor is serving in a small clinic or in the teaming emergency department of a major hospital. Regardless of the exact infrastructure, doctors need to...
Many Americans are familiar with certain common signs of heart attack. For example, intense chest pain and left arm pain will likely cause many Americans to suspect that they may be having a heart attack. However, stroke symptoms are not always so straightforward. In...
Distracted-driving accidents have taken a terrible toll in lost lives and serious injuries on the nation's highways in recent years. That is why so many states have passed restrictions on texting while driving and on cellphone use behind the wheel. Effective...
For years, the medical industry has tried to depict itself as besieged by too many medical malpractice lawsuits. It's been the type of talking point that tends to stick around, even when it is directly contradicted by the evidence. In this post, we will take note of...
How in the world can surgical teams leave objects (such as sponges) behind in patients' bodies? The question has been a source of consternation for years - and is still a pressing problem. To be sure, the movement toward the use of surgical checklists has finally...
