Co-Authored by Attorney Brendan Lupetin Any person who has had surgery probably remembers signing a consent form or consent to surgery form before surgery. The consent form is also signed by the surgeon and contains a statement that the patient understands there are risks associated with the … [Read more...]
To The Editor Regarding: The Value of Disclosing Medical Error I write this in response to an article posted by ALICIA GALLEGOS, of American Medical News, posted June 1, 2011. I heartily support the Lockton Report analyzing the findings of Aug. 17, 2010, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. … [Read more...]
As was pointed out earlier, making a health record electronic is not useful if the original health record and its use was dysfunctional. An established tradition of non-communication between members of the health care team is in no way improved by making the entries legible. Further, the existence … [Read more...]
Joe Kika writes at readersdigest.com a remarkable set of interviews of physicians and nurses confessing medical mistakes for the record which either could have or did lead to wrongful death. Among those interviewed was Peter Pronovost, a professor at John's Hopkins University School of Medicine, … [Read more...]
Kevin Pho M.D. has written that a screening test incidentaloma can make healthy people ill. This is a theme that appears too frequently in the medical literature. When I previously addressed this issue in a prior article it did not then occur to me that the argument might be used to impair patients … [Read more...]
ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS in a recent New York Times article describes outrageous behavior by the clinical director and medical director of Harlem medical center. Under the direction of these former hospital officers (they have since been fired and demoted, respectively) the cardiology department of the … [Read more...]
Doctors knowingly fail to cooperate to make medicine safe because they would then be required to practice safe medicine, and be held accountable if they fail. In the recent issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology,[1] Drs. Strunk and Queenan in their advocacy for an administrative compensation plan to … [Read more...]
The March 8th New York Times publishes a remarkably insightful opinion piece by Atul Gawande. Gawande reminds us of a lesson learned long ago in a completely different professional context. In 1935 the U.S. Army Air Corps held a flight competition for airplane manufacturers competing for the … [Read more...]
Natasha Singer, in her recent New York's Times opinion piece suggests that saying you're sorry is difficult in the health care industry. Indeed, her article addresses the pharmaceutical industry as well. It is interesting that this issue requires any discussion. We all learned as children the … [Read more...]
In 1998 the United States Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the healthcare industry adopted a Patient Bill of Rights. The same year Pennsylvania enacted a Patient Bill of Rights allegedly for the purpose of providing quality healthcare accountability and protection under Act … [Read more...]