Bias can become a matter of life or death when doctors are trained to identify symptoms only as they appear in white men. A study found bad physician judgment was to blame for 86 percent of 55,377 malpractice claims where misdiagnosis led to death or disability. The study was by the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute…
Outbreak Of Lung Injuries Spotlights Vaping Dangers
By the time the vaping victims were hospitalized, over half needed intensive care and about a third depended on ventilators to breathe. Most of the patients in the study of Illinois and Wisconsin residents in July previously had visited doctors and clinics when they felt sick after vaping, but they were misdiagnosed, according to KHQ.com….
Are Hospitals Protecting Patients From Candida Auris Infections?
A drug-resistant infection known as Candida auris has been spreading in hospitals and nursing homes since it was first identified four years ago. Medical centers can reduce the risk for patients by following proper infection-control procedures. According to a report in The New York Times, however, some facilities are failing to protect people under their…
Research Shows Expanding Medicaid Can Reduce Child Neglect
The numbers are frightening. Perhaps most appalling is the 55.7 increase in child abuse and neglect victims in Illinois from 2013 (18,465 victims) to 2017 (28,751). Other heartbreaking statistics: The child maltreatment rate rose from 6.1 per 100,000 in 2013 to 9.9 per 100,000 in 2017. The number of first-time victims rose from 13,394 in…
Best Ideas to Identify and Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect in Care
Child abuse is horrific. Abusers are monsters targeting the most vulnerable among us, without considering the lifelong trauma caused by their actions. A recent Scottish study found 90 percent of children aged 5 and younger who were taken into government care had suffered significant abuse and neglect. According to the study: Two-thirds had experienced multiple…
Foster Care Abuse Occurs More Often Than States Claim
Children placed in American foster care homes get sexually assaulted, exposed to drugs, or harmed in other ways more often than states acknowledge, advocates say. The assertion about foster care abuse doesn’t mean that all or even many foster parents are abusive. Most, like all parents, do the best they can to care for children….
Are Low-Rated Hospitals Dangerous For Patients?
If you’re in need surgery or some kind of medical procedure, you might not have thought to check the hospital’s ratings. But if you end up using a hospital with low grades, you could be putting your life at risk. Researchers found that the risk of dying from mistakes, infections and safety lapses has gotten…
An Attorney Reveals How Hospitals are Dealing with Superbugs
Superbugs are resilient and are not contained to just one healthcare facility. Stopping the spread of superbugs is a challenge, particularly for senior citizens with compromised health. In Chicago, some nursing homes are combating superbugs the old-fashioned way: with soap. The antimicrobial soap chlorhexidine is being used by doctors and healthcare workers to scrub away…
What Can Doctors Do To Prevent Hospital-Acquired Infections?
A routine procedure in a hospital can suddenly turn into a potentially deadly ordeal if the patient acquires sepsis, which is the body’s extreme response to an infection. Between one-third and one-half of deaths in U.S. hospitals are linked to sepsis, according to STAT news. After he developed sepsis following hernia surgery, Ken Rothfield –…
How Emerging Technology Can Help Prevent Surgical Errors
Undergoing surgery can be an overwhelming experience for many patients. The fear that something could go wrong and cause a serious condition to worsen is legitimate. In fact, it’s backed up by staggering data. Research from 2013 estimates that surgical errors involving the wrong site or wrong person happen as much as 50 times per…