Medical mistakes are common.  While most medical errors are never noticed, some mistakes cause injury, prolonged treatment, or death.  After a serious medical error, most institutions initiate a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to explore the event. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Network (PSNet), a root cause analysis is … Continued

When surgical intervention is necessary, most healthcare consumers hope for the best. Recent studies offer insight into neurosurgery and malpractice claims made against the physicians who practice it. Neurosurgery is focused on the nervous system, primarily the brain and the spinal cord. As the brain is the seat of identity and reasoning, and the spinal … Continued

A new study identifies risk factors associated with the pregnancy-related condition, preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a serious condition that develops usually around the 20th week, or about half-way, through pregnancy.  The condition is a type of blood pressure disorder that occurs during pregnancy, with symptoms that include protein in the urine, swelling (edema), blurry vision, shortness … Continued

When lab, imaging, or other test results are not followed up, the outcome can be tragic. According to The Joint Commission, diagnostic error impacts one in every 20 adult patients in outpatient settings and may be the most frequent medical error plaguing the practice of medicine in this country.  Johns Hopkins Medicine defines diagnostic error … Continued

Hospital-acquired pneumonia is a common and often deadly healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Hospitals are a critical aspect of community and national infrastructure.  Providing care to the ill and injured, hospitals are of vital importance throughout our lives.  But what happens when a hospital stay, by itself, proves deadly or injurious? By nature, healthcare facilities are home … Continued

Sepsis is an often-dangerous immune response that can lead to severe outcomes or death.  Paired with pregnancy, it can endanger mom and baby. Sometimes called blood poisoning, sepsis is not a disease but an attack by the human immune system upon itself.  The condition can be triggered by any type of infection and is sometimes … Continued

Media reports reveal a disturbing practice at nursing facilities who use “chemical straitjackets” to maintain patients who may have no need for the powerful medications given to them. A recent investigation by The New York Times suggests a startling number of nursing facilities across the country are using questionable diagnosis of psychotic disorders in order … Continued

Diagnostic errors made in the Emergency Department (ED) can lead to dangerous escalation of a disease, injury, or death. Emergency medicine is a specialized form of medical care that requires relative speed, thoughtful diagnosis, and appropriate testing in order to move a patient into an appropriate treatment setting or outcome.  For the most seriously ill … Continued

New treatment guidelines may reduce and deter the sometime serious impacts of infection with Clostridoides difficile (C. diff). A bacterium that causes inflammation of the colon (colitis) and severe diarrhea, C. diff can be serious at any age.  It more often impacts patients on antibiotic treatment, those who are immune compromised, individuals who have had … Continued