Never Means Never Under New Policy Under Medicare

Editor: In this world of skyrocketing health-care costs and financial crises, some good news has finally come to the average American consumer and taxpayer.

Last week, Medicare changed its rules to withhold payment for certain “never events” — medical mistakes that should never occur, such as administering the wrong blood type or leaving an instrument inside a surgical patient. Medicare also says it won’t pay for serious bed sores, injuries from falls and urinary tract infections caused by catheters, among other things. Four state Medicaid programs, including Pennsylvania, as well as several of the nation’s largest health insurers, are following suit.

It’s about time. Unlike any other service we consume, we have been living — and dying — with a U.S. health-care system that rewards mistakes and profits by making patients sicker. Hospitals that fail to prevent deadly post-operative infections, turning three-day stays into three-month stays, […]

Read More

Top 10 Tips To Get Out Of The Hospital Alive

As reported in the Citizen’s Voice preventable medical errors are a leading cause of death in America. According to the Institute of Medicine, up to 98,000 patients a year die in U.S. hospitals due to preventable errors. Last year, Pennsylvania hospitals reported more than 200,000 patient safety incidents, more than 7,000 of which resulted in serious injury or death, according to the state’s Patient Safety Authority.While doctors and hospitals across the country pursue various ways to treat the epidemic of medical errors, many experts believe the best prescription is vigilance by patients and their families. In observance of National Patient Safety Day, which is today, we have compiled a list of the “Top 10 Tips to Get Out of the Hospital Alive.”

1. Educate yourself. Although the malpractice records of individual health-care providers are often kept secret, you can check out doctors and hospitals through the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine; […]

Read More

Doctors Less Likely to Catch Strokes in Women

According to an article from Prevention Magazine, doctors often overlook women’s stroke risk, leaving them more vulnerable to the life-threatening condition than men.

Today researchers are working hard to raise awareness of female risk factors for stroke, also called “brain attacks.”

Dr. Lewis Morgenstern, MD, director of the stroke program at the University of Michigan Medical School, told Prevention, “We all learned in medical school that strokes and heart attacks are male problems. The reality is far different.”

In fact, women aged 45-54 are twice as likely as their male counterparts to suffer a stroke. However, a woman’s symptoms are usually diagnosed slower and treated less aggressively than a man’s.

Don’t allow you or your loved one to loss precious time because of this gender gap! The moments that pass between the stroke’s onset to treatment could be the difference between life and death or permanent impaired. […]

Read More

Aviation, Trucking Regulators Warned About Dangers of Pfizer Drug

Smoking cessation drug Pfizer comes with more than a few side effects

Pfizer’s new smoking cessation drug, Chantix, has hit a few bumps in the road since it received FDA approval in May 2006. The drug’s sales have been stumbling since this the FDA announced new label warnings were necessary due to increasing evidence that drug triggers changes in behavior and suicidal tendencies in some patients. Now, other potentially dangerous side effects are coming to light, but you wouldn’t know it from their adorable television commercials.

On Wednesday, a study was released by the not-for-profit organization, the Institute on Safe Medication Practices. It blasted the drug for adverse reactions such as “serious accidents and falls, potentially lethal cardiac rhythm disturbances, severe skin reactions, acute myocardial infarction, seizures, abnormal muscle spasms/movements, visual disturbances, diabetes, sudden losses of consciousness, psychosis, aggression and suicide.” The drug accounted for 988 reports of serious injuries in the 4th quarter of 2007, […]

Read More

Pool Season Safety

The summer season is pool season. Many of us will shed the layers of clothes we’ve been hiding under all winter to soak up some sun and catch a few waves (or, if you are more like me, find a giant raft to lazily float around on!)

Pools can be a lot of fun, but we all know that they pose a lot of risks, too. The risks are even greater when there are children involved. Accidental drowning is the #2 killer of children up to the age of 14. So as you are gearing up for pool season this year, remember to take into account the potential dangers that are lurking in the water, and prepare your kids to have fun- safely!

Here are some tips:

• (This is a no-brainer) Never leave your kids unattended in or around the water, and make sure an adult is present at all times. […]

Read More