There is no question that working in any sort of health care facility — hospital, clinic, pharmacy, etc. — can prove to be incredibly stressful. This is largely because medical professionals must deal with everything from sizeable patient loads and nerve-wracking scenarios to severe time constraints and seemingly endless paperwork. Unfortunately, these tense atmospheres often […]
As we’ve discussed on our blog before, potentially deadly infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. diff) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) can rapidly develop and spread at those hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities that fail to follow proper sterilization procedures and/or implement infection control strategies. The even more frightening reality, however, […]
In our previous post, we discussed the release of an eye-opening report by the Joint Commission — an influential non-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care facilities — discussing the growing problem of unintended retention of foreign objects cases. To recap, the report found that there were 772 URFO cases here in the U.S. […]
While a list outlining everything from towels and needles to sponges and surgical retractors may seem innocent enough on its surface — perhaps a supply list outlining what types of materials could be found in a particular operating room in a hospital or surgical center — the horrifying reality is that this is actually a […]
While there is currently a significant effort underway in youth, teen, amateur and professional sports leagues to raise awareness about the dangers of concussions, the danger for long-term brain injuries is still very real for many athletes. That’s because unlike other medical conditions, which can be easily diagnosed by appearance alone or by measuring certain […]
When a family is rocked by the tragic news that their newborn child has been diagnosed with a serious birth injury that they suspect was caused by some sort of medical negligence, they may feel as if they have no options. However, this may not be the case, as they may be able to seek […]
In the previous post, our blog discussed how it’s OK for people who find themselves hospitalized to feel somewhat anxious, but that they also need to remember that they are not at the mercy of potentially negligent staff members or questionable hospital procedures. Specifically, the post explored how there are certain steps that hospital patients […]
There is no doubt that the hospital can prove to be a rather intimidating atmosphere for sick patients. Aside from worrying about impending procedures or the general state of their health, patients have to contend with being hooked up to strange machines, taking a regimen of unfamiliar drugs and communicating with seemingly indistinguishable staff members […]
Earlier this year, we discussed how the Veterans Affairs Hospital right here in Pittsburgh was under investigation by federal officials following an outbreak of Legionnaires’ — an extremely dangerous respiratory disease — that was eventually linked to five patient fatalities and multiple patient infections. While you might be tempted to think this kind of medical […]
Those who make an effort to remain current on trends and developments in the area of health care are more than likely familiar with the serious problem posed by hospital-acquired infections, which statistics show affect one out of every 20 patients. While this may seem like a relatively high figure, government officials recently indicated that […]
