Missed Diagnoses, Drug Errors Are Major Cause of Malpractice Suits
THURSDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Most malpractice claims against primary care doctors are the result of drug errors and missed diagnoses, particularly of cancer, heart attack and meningitis, a new review finds.
Researchers analyzed 34 studies published over the past two years, including 15 studies based in the United States.
In...
55 hospitals to pay $34 million for overcharging Medicare
Fifty-five hospitals in 21 states agreed Tuesday to pay the U.S. government more than $34 million to settle charges that they submitted false claims to Medicare for kyphoplasty procedures, the Justice Department said.
Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat certain spinal fractures that often are caused by osteoporosis.
“The...
Study Finds Diagnostic Errors Are Costliest And Deadliest Kinds Of Medical Mistakes
The Wall Street Journal recently published the results of a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins who found that diagnostic errors accounted for a major and costly portion of the overall medical errors that take place in the U.S. each year.
The study, published in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety, involved researchers...
Medical field works to reduce number of surgical mistakes
The bullet that struck Larney Johnson while he was playing basketball with friends punctured his kidney before lodging in his spine and immediately paralyzing him.
Paramedics rushed him to California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles, where surgeons repaired his kidney. But three years later, he said, doctors made a startling discovery: a surgical sponge...
Opinion: Protect patients’ rights, protect patients’ lives
We are facing a medical malpractice crisis in our country.
More than 98,000 people die every year because of preventable medical errors. That is equivalent to two 737s crashing every day for a whole year. Preventable medical errors are the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and cost our country...
Hospital Safety Ratings Released By Consumer Reports
Billings Clinic in Montana is the safest hospital in the US, while Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago scored lowest, according to Consumer Reports’ first-ever list of the best and worst medical facilities.
According to the organization, a 2010 US Department of Health and Human Services report said that infections, surgical error, and other...
E-Records Linked to Fewer Malpractice Claims
Malpractice claims dipped dramatically among Massachusetts physicians after they began using electronic medical records, according to new research, although it's not clear whether the record-keeping was connected to the decline in claims.
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Hospitals flout charity aid law
For most of her life, Hope Rubel was a healthy woman with good medical insurance, an unblemished credit history and a solid career in graphic design. But on the day an ambulance rushed her to a Manhattan hospital emergency room shortly after her 48th birthday, she was jobless, uninsured and having a stroke.
Gov’t says hospitals will pay $12M to end inquiry
NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that a group of 14 hospitals will pay more than $12 million to settle allegations that they converted some outpatient spinal surgeries into more expensive inpatient procedures so they could get bigger payments from Medicare.
The Justice Department said the hospitals overcharged...
