Hospital Patients Given Wrong Medicine On Discharge

Three out of four patients go home from the hospital with the wrong prescriptions or a lack of understanding about their medications.

That’s the disturbing conclusion of a new study from Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The chief researcher, Dr. Leora Horwitz, who also practices at the hospital, said health care providers “do a relatively poor job of educating patients about their medications.”

Medical malpractice mistakes involving medication errors cause injuries to more than 1.3 million persons a year.

This is from the New Haven Register:

A recent study [Dr. Horowitz] led looked at 377 patients at Yale-New Haven Hospital, ages 64 and older, who had been admitted with heart failure, acute coronary syndrome or pneumonia, then discharged to home.

Of that group, 307 patients – 81 percent – either experienced a provider error in their discharge medications or had no understanding of at least one intended medication change…. […]

Iraqi Vet From Carbondale Wins $3.7 Million for PTSD

A Pennsylvania federal judge has awarded $3.7 million to an Iraqi war veteran who said Veterans Affairs doctors failed to properly treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.

U.S. District Judge James Munley issued an order January 16 in favor of Stanley Laskowski III and his wife Marisol.

Laskowski was treated at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township.

Since October 2001, approximately 1.6 million U.S. troops have been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Evidence suggests that many returning service members suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and traumatic brain injury.

This is from the Times Leader:

Laskowski, of Carbondale, filed suit against the VA in 2010, alleging physicians there were grossly negligent in the care they provided him for PTSD he developed during a tour of duty in Iraq with the U.S. […]

Top 10 Tips for Safe Air Travel

Last year was the safest year for air travel in more than 60 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

In 2012, there were 23 fatal airliner accidents – including both passenger and cargo flights – resulting in 475 fatalities and 36 ground fatalities worldwide. Those figures are well below the 10-year average of 34 accidents and 773 fatalities.

When only passenger flights are considered, the news is even brighter. There were 11 accidents involving passenger aircraft – the lowest total since 1945 and under the average of 16 accidents per year.

People who are injured in a Pennsylvania airplane crash – or the families of people who are killed – might have a right to sue for financial compensation.

Following is from the ASN news release:

2012 marked the longest period without a fatal airliner accident in modern aviation history. […]

Five Tips for Avoiding State Flu Outbreak

Pennsylvania has been hard hit by influenza, with one hospital setting up a special tent to treat the wave of patients.

The city of Boston has even declared a state of flu emergency.

Flu season started more than a month early this year and is now widespread in Pennsylvania and 46 other states.

In some cases, flu symptoms of high fever, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, and body aches have been combined with a stomach virus and whooping cough.

More than 200,000 people are hospitalized for influenza each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Between 3,000 and 49,000 people die annually as a result of influenza.

The best way to avoid getting the flu in Pennsylvania is to get vaccinated.

The CDC says a vaccine is available in most places, although some parts of the country have seen spot shortages. […]

How Can a Dog’s Bite Harm You?

Of the millions of dogs that are owned by people and families in the United States, a majority are extremely friendly and loving, even to strangers, and never cause anyone harm. However, unfortunately, there are many dogs that are aggressive and attack people, often causing unsuspecting people extreme harm, both physically and psychologically.

While some dog bites may only be minor, resulting in superficial cuts, others can cause debilitating physical harm. Some of the most common effects of dog bites include:

• Lacerations (cuts)
• Broken bones
• Infections
• Disfigurement
• Scarring
• Paralysis
• Nerve damage
• Emotional / psychological harm

Often times, it is the psychological damage that a dog bite victim sustains that is the most damaging. Not only do many victims of such attacks suffer from issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder that cause lasting fear and trauma, […]