One of the more significant advancements in modern medicine over the last decade wasn’t created in a laboratory and wasn’t designed to cure any type of illness. Rather, it was designed to improve patient care by enhancing the communication abilities of emergency room physicians and critical care specialists. The advancement in question is referred to […]
A recently published study by researchers from several renowned academic institutions and medical establishments, including the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, has made some altogether remarkable findings concerning the short-term diagnosis and long-term treatment of brain injuries. The study, published in the medical journal Frontiers in Neurology, set out to determine whether it […]
Last time, our blog discussed the false sense of security that often accompanies the news that a patient has to undergo an operation considered relatively minor by the medical community. Specifically, we explored how just because a procedure is considered minor or a physician has performed it innumerable times, it is still no guarantee that […]
While no one wants to hear that he or she will have to undergo an operation, the news is undoubtedly far less disturbing for those patients whose surgical procedures are considered relatively minor by the medical community and whose physicians have significant experience. However, patients in these situations should still always remember an axiom from […]
Most people who make a critical mistake at work have the luxury of putting it behind them and starting out fresh the following morning. However, there are people employed in certain professions where this simply isn’t an option. For example, when a surgeon has an off day, the surgeon can’t ignore what happened; rather, he […]
Every baby born in a Pennsylvania hospital deserves a chance at a full, healthy life — even if his or her mother is homeless. One West Coast mother who alleged that she received substandard medical care because of her housing situation will now receive a $7.5 million settlement in her birth injury claim. The woman’s […]
Scores of Americans die or become sickened by medications every year, even though our nation ostensibly conducts exacting tests to ensure drug safety. One of these cases involved the tragic death of a Pennsylvania woman after she took the prescribed drug Pradaxa in 2012. Now the woman’s two daughters are seeking financial compensation for wrongful […]
Up until a few weeks ago, 36 states had enacted so-called “apology laws” allowing physicians to apologize to patients or relatives in the event of a mishap without fear that their statements of sympathy might later be used against them in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Supporters have long argued that these apology laws reduce animosity […]
In the last post, our blog discussed the major problem in the medical community concerning physicians’ general unwillingness to confront or report their colleagues for both minor and major medical mistakes. Specifically, we explored how this reluctance can likely be traced to the delicate interplay of office politics and the unspoken tenet that you don’t […]
Chances are that you’ve heard the phrase “the thin blue line,” which is essentially a term used to describe the steadfast dedication that police officers have to one another, including perhaps an unwillingness to report when one of them has made an otherwise egregious error. As it turns out, this term could perhaps be applied […]
