Most parents in Pittsburgh can’t imagine anything more horrible than losing a child. So when doctors told two parents that their 7-year-old son Jaylen died, the parents had a hard time accepting the news. When Jaylen was two, he had a stroke. Since then, he has relied on a ventilator to breath. About two weeks […]
We’ve all seen advertisements for prescription drugs on television. Most advertisements are set up the same way — a person is shown struggling with a medical condition; the person takes the advertised drug; the person is shown laughing and playing with children or a puppy. The drug seems wonderful, like it is the answer sufferers […]
Whenever anyone in Pittsburgh goes to the hospital, it is usually with a measure of trepidation. That is completely natural. Some medical treatments — such as surgery — are invasive and can be frightening, and given the number of complications, a bit of worrying is absolutely warranted. However, there other treatments — such as receiving […]
When is it okay to tell a lie? Some people think little white lies are okay — as long as they don’t harm anyone. Other people are willing to use a more generous definition regarding what constitutes a “little” white lie. People tell lies to cover up their mistakes; they lie because they’re embarrassed to […]
A huge irony resides in the medical community that underscores a central misconception about certain hospitals. Namely, those institutions would be the nation’s preeminent teaching facilities — those with prominent names and vast amounts of research funding, where doctors at the top of their fields examine patients with hands-on expertise while imparting knowledge to some […]
From Pittsburgh to Pasadena, privacy expectations are variable for most people. Paraphrased, that means this: Tell a morning secret to an office gossip and you can reasonably expect to be conversational fodder at the water cooler by noon. Conversely, confide similarly confidential information to a doctor in a clinical setting and the outcome will likely […]
When patients are admitted to the hospital in critical condition, it is with the expectation that they will receive high-quality health care. Unfortunately, what many patients in Pittsburgh do not realize is that the day of the week they are admitted to the hospital may impact how likely they are to survive their medical crisis. […]
When most people think about medical malpractice claims, they think about a healthcare provider who caused severe physical harm to a patient. That is the quintessential definition of medical malpractice. However, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that a doctor can be sued for causing a patient emotional distress, even if there is no […]
Our last post talked about recovery time for children who suffer traumatic brain injuries. Studies show that children who suffer TBI typically recover more fully than adults who suffer traumatic brain injuries. Moreover, according to the director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair in Pennsylvania, “The younger [kids] tend to do better than […]
