Medical Malpractice

According to the American Medical Association, the total amount paid as the result of medical malpractice lawsuits had dropped steadily since 2003. The drop has not been the result of…

When a doctor makes a mistake and a patient is harmed, what protections exist to make sure the patient knows what happened? Many hospitals once maintained policies of providing vague,…

People who lament the days of doctors making house calls may have mixed feelings about a possible new direction in the field of medicine. So-called “virtual” health care may become…

The National Practitioner Data Bank is a database kept by the federal government containing the records of medical malpractice payments all across the country. In a review of all the…

A recent study points to potential benefits offered by the so-called video game generation. According to the study, surgical residents and medical students who played more than three hours of…

The sound of an alarm is intended to draw the immediate attention of those in an area. But when alarms become commonplace, they can become ineffective. A car alarm in…

A medical malpractice lawsuit may happen years after a medical mistake injures or kills the patient. If medical malpractice does harm a patient, the patient’s records often provide vital clues…

Not that long ago, it was common for first year residents to spend 100 or more hours a week in the hospital working or on call. Those demanding schedules were…

A report released by the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute suggests that workers in the health care field face unpleasant and even dangerous working conditions. Unhappy, unhealthy workers…

The amount of time your doctor spends with you could determine the quality of the care you receive. Many diagnostic mistakes stem from the time the doctor spends with the…

Surgery is never completely free from risk. Some problems, however, are much easier to avoid than others. A “retained surgical item” is the term given to things like sponges and…

Hospitals are not the easiest environment in which to ask questions. Many patients feel intimidated and allow themselves to be treated without truly understanding the care they receive. Given that…