patient safety

Whistleblower Doctors Shed Light on Patient Safety and Medicare Fraud with Concurrent Surgeries and Double-Billing

By James M. Kelley III Doctors at some large teaching hospitals in the United States are speaking out against a concerning practice that jeopardizes patient safety and potentially defrauds Medicare. Surgeons, they claim, are scheduling multiple operations simultaneously, leaving critical portions unattended, and then billing for services they still need to provide fully. In...

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What Is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month?

March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of cerebral palsy, including its causes, symptoms, and treatments. Cerebral palsy affects approximately 500,000 children and adults in the U.S. It's the most common motor disability in childhood, with nearly 8,000 infants and babies diagnosed yearly. Facts About Cerebral...

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Nearly 25% of Patients Experience Harm in U.S. Hospitals

When you go to a hospital, you believe you are being cared for and treated in the best way possible. However, a recent study shows this is not the case. New England Journal of Medicine recently released a report revealing that nearly 1 in 4 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals will experience harm during their stay. The...

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Common Anesthesia Errors that Lead to Medical Malpractice

For most patients, a procedure requiring anesthesia goes according to plan.  Unfortunately, when emergency rooms, operating tables, or surgical centers get busy, mistakes can happen. Learn more about the common types of anesthesia errors and the injuries caused by them: Common Types of Anesthesia Errors Anesthesia errors often happen because anesthesiologists and other medical...

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Why July is the most dangerous month for surgeries

Did you know July is the most dangerous month to undergo surgery? At teaching hospitals across the country, July 1 generally marks the first day on the job for medical school graduates beginning their residencies. While teaching hospitals do their best to create a safe and seamless transition, studies have raised concerns about the...

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Massive IVC Filter Study Underway

The Surgeon General estimates about one half million Americans are affected by blood clots annually and between 100,000 and 180,000 people die of pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot that travels to the lungs. To combat this problem, doctors implant hundreds of thousands of Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters inside patients each year to...

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Avoid having surgery during the summer: What Ohio hospitals aren’t telling you

by R. Craig McLaughlin It’s the championship football game and your favorite team is driving down the field to score a touchdown. Your star quarterback and seasoned offensive linemen are working together like a well-oiled machine. Everyone is in perfect sync and the entire team is seemingly moving as one. Your team can’t be...

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Is your hospital safe?

Not all hospitals are the same. In fact, one recent study showed patients who undergo common surgeries are safer at busy hospitals that perform the procedures regularly. Hospital surgical volume matters An article published in U.S. News and World report has shed the light on a little-known surgical risk: inexperience. Extrapolating data from Medicare...

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Benzodiazepines Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

Most of us take medications knowing there is a risk of side effects, but that risk is small, right? Surely the FDA ensures the health benefits outweigh these minor inconveniences, right? But what if I told you that if your grandmother took a sleeping pill, she’d be 50% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease?...

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Using Technology to Prevent Bedsores

For millions of Americans, staying in a long-term healthcare facility means an increased risk of developing bedsores. Also known as pressure ulcers, these skin lesions can cause serious and painful infections of the skin, bones and joints. Complications can include tissue and nerve damage, organ failure and even cancer. The best way to prevent...

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