Archive for 'Medical Malpractice' Category

Hospital Transplants Kidney into Wrong Patient

Doctors at a California hospital transplanted a kidney into the wrong patient last month, reports the Los Angeles Times. According to the article, USC University Hospital in Los Angeles, CA shut down its kidney transplant program on January 29 after realizing a hospital error caused doctors to transplant a donor kidney into the wrong patient. [...]

Pharmacy Error Gives Pregnant Woman Abortion Drug Instead of Antibiotic

A Colorado pharmacy mistakenly gave a pregnant woman the wrong drug, placing the life of her unborn child at risk, reports the Denver Post. Mareena Silva, 19, went to the Safeway pharmacy in Fort Lupton, CO to pick up a prescription for antibiotics. The pharmacy mixed up Silva’s prescription with that of another woman with [...]

Doctors using mobile devices to read scans and make diagnoses… “There’s an app for that.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that the agency has approved the first ever application that allows doctors to view medical scan images on mobile devices, Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad. Hospital radiology departments or physician’s offices will soon be able to send images from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), [...]

Nearly 1 in 4 Implanted Defibrillators are Unnecessary and Risky

A new study released today says 22.5% of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are surgically implanted in patients who do not meet medical guidelines for these devices. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a medical device about the size of a cookie implanted in the chest that detects an irregular heartbeat, an arrhythmia, and sends electrical shock to [...]

Kids Swallowing Button Batteries Need Immediate Medical Attention, but 22% of Doctors May Mistreat

A new study has found that button batteries, also called disc batteries, lodged in the esophagus of children can do extensive damage within hours, worrying study authors because in an earlier study 22% of physicians said they would not remove such batteries even if lodged in the esophagus. The study entitled A Review of Esophageal [...]

Hospital Circumcises Newborn Boy against Wishes of Family

A Miami hospital is facing legal action after circumcising a newborn boy after the family repeatedly expressed wishes that he remain intact, according to ABC News. Vera Delgado is suing Baptist Health’s South Miami Hospital for the unauthorized circumcision of her 8-day-old son Mario Viera, who was in the neonatal intensive care unit suffering birth [...]

V.A. hospital potentially exposed 1,812 Veterans to blood-borne diseases and HIV during dental work

A routine inspection has found that Cochran V.A. Medical Center in St. Louis, MO may have exposed more than 1,800 veterans to blood-borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C during dental work, according to an article in The New York Times. During the period when these veterans had dental work from February [...]

Extent of Echocardiogram Backlog Debacle at NYC’s Harlem Hospital Grows

Doctors reviewing the backlog of thousands of echocardiograms performed at New York City’s Harlem Hospital found there are substantially more of the unread tests than previously thought and they span a period years longer, said an article yesterday by The New York Times. An echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create a [...]

Neuromuscular Blocking Agents Wrong-Drug Errors at PA Medical Facilities

The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority released a report in its December 2009 Patient Advisory regarding wrong-drug errors of neuromuscular blocking agents at Pennsylvania medical facilities. Patients are administered neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) in emergency departments, intensive care units, interventional radiology areas and medical and surgical units to paralyze skeletal muscles during surgery conducted under general [...]

Philly Man Having Heart Attack Dies Awaiting Treatment in Hospital ER then Robbed by Drug Addicts

A popular Philly local musician and high school counselor went to a hospital emergency room on Saturday complaining of heart attack symptoms. He sat untreated in the waiting room for 80 minutes, where he died and three homeless drug addicts robbed him of his wristwatch. Joaquin Rivera, 63, of Frankford, walked two blocks from his [...]