Published: Apr 29, 2013 By Cole Petrochko , Staff Writer, MedPage Today WASHINGTON — The FDA has warned consumers that the anti-seizure drug ezogabine (Potiga) can cause skin and eye discoloration. Use of the drug may cause blue skin discoloration on or around the lips, in nail beds on fingers and toes, and potentially on […]
Published: Apr 29, 2013 | Updated: Apr 29, 2013 Full Text Article Download Action Points Missed doses, wrong doses, and other medication errors are common among children with cancer who receive part of their treatment at home, with substantial potential for harm. Point out that errors had potential to harm 36 per 100 patients and […]
Laurie Barclay, MD April 25, 2013 Medical interns spend only 12% of their time examining and talking with patients, and more than 40% of their time on computer tasks, according to a time-motion study published online April 18 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “One of the most important learning opportunities in residency is direct interaction with […]
Published: Apr 25, 2013 By Gary Schwitzer The Boston Globe reported recently that: Reports of complications from robot-assisted surgery are rising, according to Massachusetts health officials who sent hospitals an “advisory” letter last week alerting them about their safety concerns. In some cases, it appears that doctors have used the aggressively marketed robots to perform hysterectomies and colorectal […]
Robert Lowes April 23, 2013 Wrong-site surgeries grab headlines, but the diagnostic errors that quietly occur in clinicians’ minds are “the most frequent, most severe, and most costly of medical mistakes” among paid malpractice claims, according to a new study published online Monday in BMJ Quality & Safety. Remarkably, the healthcare establishment largely tolerates diagnostic errors […]
April 19, 2013 – 3:43 PM By Michael W. Chapman (Warning: Some of the material presented in this story is graphic.) (CNSNews.com) – A witness testified in the Gosnell abortion-murder trial that she saw one baby expelled alive into a toilet where it “was like swimming” and “trying to get out.” According to the grand jury report in […]
Medscape.com Robert Lowes April 18, 2013 Two executives of a hospital in Chicago, Illinois, along with 3 physicians and a podiatrist were arrested by federal agents April 16 for allegedly conspiring to give and receive illegal kickbacks for referring Medicare and Medicaid patients in a case built with “wired” colleagues who had flipped for law […]
Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers and Other Drugs Among Women United States, 1999-2010 Karin A. Mack, PhD, Christopher M. Jones, PharmD, Leonard J. Paulozzi, MD Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2013;62(26):537-542. Abstract Background: Overdose deaths have increased steadily over the past decade. This report describes drug-related deaths and emergency department (ED) visits among women. […]
Fran Lowry May 13, 2013 Major medical procedures such as induction of labor, use of drugs to speed labor, and cesarean delivery are overused in women giving birth in the United States, according to a national survey of new mothers. Moreover, many pregnant women feel pressure to undergo such risky procedures, the survey, called Listening to […]
Medscape.com Michael O’Riordan April 11, 2013 PATERSON, NJ — A New York area–based cardiologist has confessed to ordering unnecessary tests and procedures on patients to the tune of $19 million[1]. Dr Jose Katz, the owner and chief executive officer of Cardio-Med Services and Comprehensive Healthcare and Medical Services, admitted to ordering diagnostic tests regardless of patient […]
HEALTH By Michael Booth The Denver Post POSTED: 04/10/2013 05:36:05 PM MDT The Colorado medical board has charged Dr. Warren Kortz with 14 counts of unprofessional conduct after a series of failed procedures with Porter Adventist Hospital’s robotic surgery arm, as federal officials launch a wider review of the highly touted procedures. The state alleges […]
Published: Apr 5, 2013 By David Pittman , Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today Full Story Utah’s largest health system will pay more more than $25 million to settle claims that it violated Stark laws that prohibit paying doctors in ways that influence referrals, the Justice Department has announced. Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City self-disclosed to […]
Robert Lowes April 30, 2013 A spike in the number of adverse event reports (AERs) associated with the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical) last year has prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to survey surgeons about their experience with this technology for robot-assisted surgery. Some of the AERs on file with the FDA pertain […]
Nonbenzodiazepines for Sleep Linked to Hip Fractures Pauline Anderson Mar 06, 2013 Nursing home residents who use nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic sleep agents are at 66% increased risk for a hip fracture, with the risk apparently greatest within the first 15 days of medication use, according to a new study. Particularly vulnerable are residents who need some […]
Physicians often don’t communicate the risks of CT studies to patients undergoing the scans and usually leave patients out of the decision-making process, researchers found.
If you think that medical errors are a thing of the past, you are mistaken.
Incretins Again Linked to Pancreatitis Published: Feb 25, 2013 By Kristina Fiore , Staff Writer, MedPage Today Diabetes drugs that work via the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) pathway may raise the risk of acute pancreatitis, researchers found. In a case-control study, patients who had used either sitagliptin (Januvia) or exenatide (Byetta) were about twice as likely […]
June 20, 2013 Questionable and potentially harmful prescriptions, costing the US government some $352 million, were prescribed for elderly and disabled patients by 736 general care physicians under the national insurance program Medicare, a new report revealed. The 28-page report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, titled‘Prescribers with Questionable […]
Al-Shoha A, et al. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2012. Show full citation Abstract STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, observational study. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of epidural steroid injection (ESI) on bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: ESIs are used to treat the pain associated with radiculopathy. Although it is known that exogenous steroid […]