Mistakes come in all sizes and flavors. At one extreme, they are dumb and harmless and can be simply erased, just like the wrong answer to a math problem. Remember all those little eraser droppings you brushed and blew off your notebook paper? No harm done. Mistakes easily fixed. Learning happened. Life goes on. At […]
Medical Errors, Mayo Doctors and Who’s Protecting Whom? Read More »
Michael Skolnik, age 22, was playing the with family dog when he blacked out. A series of errors ensued, including neurosurgery by an inexperienced doctor who already had a malpractice claim against him in another state. After two years of hell, during which he couldn’t walk or talk, Michael died. Do you realize that it’s
Malpractice Goes Online Read More »
The COURAGE study has caused a flutter. A perfect example of my continual assertion: American Healthcare is not about health or care: it’s about sickness and money. Yesterday, for my radio show, I interviewed Dr. Robert Carhart, a cardiologist from University Hospital in Syracuse, NY. During the show we like to go behind the medical
Stents, Angioplasty and the Almighty Dollar Read More »
The other day I blogged — again — about MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections and asked you to contact your legislators to ask them to pass legislation to require hospitals to disclose their infection rates. These superbug infections kill 100,000 Americans per year, and infect almost 2 million others — all unnecessary because controlling the
MRSA Disclosure Legislation: Act Now! Read More »
My world as a patient advocacy consultant* exists in two camps, both of which influence each other constantly. Camp #1 is the world of medical errors and misdiagnosis. That’s the world where my career began — although not by choice, certainly. It’s the world the Institute of Medicine referred to when it reported that infamous
Medical Error Insurance? Read More »
I’m visiting my parents for a week. They live in a retirement /transitional living center in Florida where my mother resides in the memory center (she is an Alzheimer’s patient) and my dad lives in the same building in a beautiful apartment. It allows them to spend time together each day, and it’s remarkable how
When is a doctor too old? Read More »
I heard this weekend from a woman who read my columns about MRSA. She shared her experience — how she contracted MRSA seven years ago, and a recent experience with surgery. She was frustrated because, for the most recent surgery, she was put on a floor in the hospital that was just for MRSA patients
More on MRSA – It just doesn’t stop Read More »
I heard this weekend from a woman who read my columns about MRSA. She shared her experience — how she contracted MRSA seven years ago, and a recent experience with surgery. She was frustrated because, for the most recent surgery, she was put on a floor in the hospital that was just for MRSA patients
More on MRSA – It just doesn’t stop Read More »
