When a patient says he signed or gave his informed consent, what does that mean? Does it mean that the patient does not have the right to sue if the doctor is negligent and causes injury? A patient may sign a document indicating that he was advised of the material risks, benefits and alternative to [...]
Medical malpractice or invasion of privacy - or both? A recent lawsuit was filed by a patient that had her medical records sent without her consent. We all trust that our medical records will be maintained in a confidential manner and only disclosed with our permission for appropriate use. But what happens when the rules [...]
Hospital-acquired infections happen all too often. There are multiple sources for acquiring infections before, during and after surgery. Poor infection prevention by the healthcare team can lead to the spread of infection from patient to patient. The prevention of infection, sepsis, organ failure and death requires that all member of the hospital staff understand how [...]
Patient safety is vital. Being a patient safety advocate involves fighting for accountability and change. Should a patient suffer an adverse outcome that was preventable and avoidable? No! While bad results can occur, when a death or serious injury occurs should a doctor or nurse be treated any differently than you or I? No. People [...]
You have an appointment at 10 am with your doctor. You are sitting in a waiting room crammed with other patients and it is now 10:45 am. Sound familiar? You have wasted at least 45 minutes of your valuable time and your blood pressure is rising! Sound familiar? Everyone in the room is unhappy, but [...]
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, recently conducted a study that found that hospital websites may overestimate the benefits and ignore the risks of using robotic surgery at their facilities. After analyzing 400 randomly-selected websites for hospitals with 200 or more beds across the U.S., the researchers found that about [...]
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for pretrial discovery of experts was amended in December of 2010 to make the communication between an expert and the attorney less discoverable at deposition than before. In Ohio, most trial courts have given a very liberal interpretation to what must be disclosed by an expert at the time [...]
Doctors should be held accountable for the consequences of their mistakes like everyone else in society. If you make a mistake and it causes harm to a patient that has placed his or her trust in your hands and it results in the inability to enjoy day-to-day life as you knew it before, should you [...]
The doctors appointment should not be taken lightly. Be prepared! Write down questions and ask the doctor your questions and concerns during your exam. The physician-patient relationship is a two-way street and requires your accurate history of what is bothering you and the physician listening to your history and evaluating your complaints in the context [...]
Any steps hospitals and clinics can take to reduce medical errors will in turn decrease avoidable outcomes and the necessity of medical malpractice lawsuits. An Ohio program designed to reduce adverse drug effects and infections among patients has received national recognition for its proven contributions to patient safety. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) [...]