Posts tagged Medical Malpractice

• Half of Doctors in U.S. Report Medical Errors

  Linda Snyder | December 07, 2007 3:28 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  Recently, researchers found that only half of all U.S. doctors report medical mistakes or unethical colleagues. Only 46 percent of physicians surveyed stated that they knew of a serious medical error and didn't report it. The U.S. Institute of Medicine surveyed more than 1,600 physicians in 2003 and 2004; only 31 percents had undergone a competency review in the past three years. About 98,000...

• Longer Stays in Hospice Cause Financial Problems

  Linda Snyder | November 27, 2007 11:47 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  Numerous hospice providers nationwide are facing financial problems due to their patients living longer than expected. You would assume this would obviously be a positive development, yet the effects on hospices' aren't.Over the last eight years, the federal government has had to demand that hospices exceeding reimbursement limits repay hundreds of millions of dollars to Medicare.A 2006 report...

• New bill to help health care workers

  Staff Writer | February 06, 2007 11:03 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  An interesting article in The Denver Post yesterday addresses administrative problems in hospitals that could be to the detriment of health care workers and patients, possilby leading to medical malpractice.The article tells the story of a hospital cleaning crew supervisor who was fired after repeatedly asking for more staff members to help them do a better job. Nurses and others complained that...

• FDA scientists conclude public health not adequately protected

  Staff Writer | July 22, 2006 6:20 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  The FDA's prime responsibility is to insure that the public is protected from unsafe drugs and medical devices. Recent studies suggest that the FDA is falling well short of it's goal. Even more surprising, these concerns have been raised from within the FDA itself.Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a survey noting that more than a third of FDA scientists said agency officials...

• Medication errors harm millions

  Staff Writer | July 22, 2006 5:57 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  Pharmacists and physicians belong to two of the most trusted professions in America. We routinely follow our doctors advice regarding drugs they prescribe and then trust that our pharmacists will correctly fill the order. Unfortunately, many times our trust is misplaced. Today the Institute of Medicine released a report noting that medication errors harm 1.5 million people each year. The...

• Is it frivolous when it affects you or yours?

  Staff Writer | June 01, 2006 10:34 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  I read a story today about a Tacoma physician filing a medical malpractice lawsuit involving his wife's recent death. While you cannot make a good determination based on just what you read in the papers, it appears as if her death should have been prevented. We, of course, sympathize with the family and offer our condolences.Medical malpractice damage caps affect us all. I hope our legislators...

• Frivolous Litigation?

  Staff Writer | May 11, 2006 7:55 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  Today's edition of The New England Journal of Medicine sheds light on an erroneous claim often made by medical malpractice insurance companies. The insurance community-- and the current administration--- has long claimed that high premiums are brought on largely by frivolous or unfounded litigation. Today's article should settle this issue once and for all.The NEJM (the world's most prestigious...

• Medical Errors and Death in Hospitals

  Staff Writer | April 21, 2006 8:36 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  A recent study by HealthGrades indicates that the most serious problem in U.S. hospitals is medical error. This study ranked hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Tennessee and the District of Columbia as those ranking lowest in patient safety.For more information about the medical errors study...

• Health Care Crisis

  Staff Writer | April 18, 2006 10:59 PM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  We have all read about rising health care costs. Insurance companies would have you believe the increase is due to high medical malpractice verdicts and unscrupulous trial lawyers. As a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice litigation and takes pride in representing the injured, it was with interest that I read the front page story in today's Wall Street Journal (April 18, 2006).The...

• Pharmacy Misfills A Fact of Life

  Staff Writer | February 21, 2006 10:54 AM | 0 CommentsDenver, CO Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  The statistics over the last 20 years have remained fairly consistent: 3-5% of all prescription fills at retail pharmacies result in errors, or "misfills" as they are known in the pharmacy business. This means that for every 100 prescriptions that you or your loved ones have filled, it is a statistical fact that 3-5 of them will be dispensed with some kind of error. Sometimes the wrong drug is...