Hawaii School Settles Sexual Assault Suit for $5 Million |
| The state of Hawaii will pay $5 million in a sexual assault lawsuit filed against the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind. The lawsuit, filed by a group of students against the school, claims they were "raped and assaulted for more than a decade by other students." The suit claims that the school's administrator was made aware of the situation in 2007 but "did nothing to stop it." Wire Report, San Francisco Chronicle 02/02/2013 | Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle |
Former Employee Files Suit Against Oprah's TV Network |
| A former employee of Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network has filed suit against the company on the grounds of sex and pregnancy discrimination. In the suit, the woman claimed she was replaced when she took medical leave for being pregnant and that after returning to work a month after giving birth, she was fired. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Sadie Gennis, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 02/02/2013 | Read Article: Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
Battles Erupt Over Filling Doctors' Shoes |
| As physician assistants and other midlevel health professionals fill growing gaps in primary health care, turf battles are erupting in many states over what they can and can't do in medical practices. One of the bitterest fights is in Kentucky, where physician assistants are lobbying the state legislature to repeal a law that says that for the first 18 months after certification, physician assistants are allowed to treat patients only when a supervising physician is on site. Being in phone contact isn't deemed sufficient. MELINDA BECK, Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required 02/04/2013 | Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) |
“Sloppy and Paste” Endures Despite Patient Safety Risk |
| During the winter holidays, a patient at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut had a large pressure ulcer with an abscess. A surgical intern made a note in the patient’s electronic health record that said, “Patient needs drainage, may need OR.” The problem? The same note appeared for several consecutive days, even after a surgical team successfully drained the abscess. The intern had copied and pasted the previous day’s note, but failed to appropriately update it to reflect the fact that the drainage was done. The note confused the consulting infectious disease team and nearly led to an unneeded change in the patient’s antibiotic regimen.The practice of carelessly copying and pasting previous information, often dubbed “sloppy and paste,” is on the decline at Yale-New Haven Hospital but is widespread across medicine and can lead to mix-ups that sometimes harm patients, research shows. Kevin B. O'Reilly, American Medical News 02/04/2013 | Read Article: American Medical News |
Drowned in a Stream of Prescriptions |
| Medications like Adderall can markedly improve the lives of children and others with the disorder. But the tunnel-like focus the medicines provide has led growing numbers of teenagers and young adults to fake symptoms to obtain steady prescriptions for highly addictive medications that carry serious psychological dangers. These efforts are facilitated by a segment of doctors who skip established diagnostic procedures, renew prescriptions reflexively and spend too little time with patients to accurately monitor side effects. ALAN SCHWARZ, The New York Times 02/04/2013 | Read Article: The New York Times |
Thousands on Still Waiting for Sandy Flood Insurance Settlements |
| Thousands of Long Islanders trying to rebuild from superstorm Sandy are still waiting for final insurance settlements, leaving them struggling to pay contractors and frustrated at having half-gutted homes more than three months after being flooded. Many of these homeowners have been paying premiums for years, even decades, to the government-run National Flood Insurance Program. While most have received some money, nearly half of all New Yorkers who filed flood claims after Sandy still haven't been paid in full, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. JOE RYAN, Newsday 02/04/2013 | Read Article: Newsday |
Editorials/Columns/Letters
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Editorial; To Reduce Medical Errors, Make Them Public |
| At least 4,000 times a year in the U.S., surgeons leave a sponge or instrument inside a patient, perform an incorrect procedure, or operate on a wrong body part or even a wrong patient, according to a recent study from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. That estimate is probably low, based as it is on malpractice claims, because many errors don’t turn into legal actions. Some go undetected altogether. In one in 15 cases, the mistake leads to a patient’s death. Editors, Bloomberg 02/04/2013 | Read Article: Bloomberg |
BP Accused of Market Manipulation in Suit |
| A former natural gas trader for British Petroleum has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming BP Energy Co. "is attempting to manipulate the U.S. natural gas liquids market." The suit accuses the company of attempting to create a dominating position in the market and says he was unjustly fired earlier this month. In 2007, BP paid over $300 million in fines over propane manipulation. Staff Report, Reuters 01/31/2013 | Read Article: Reuters |
Cook County May Pay $20 Million in Malpractice Suit |
| Taxpayers in Cook County, Ill., may have to shoulder the burden of a $20 million medical malpractice settlement filed against the county public health system. The suit was filed by the parents of a toddler who suffered severe brain damage during a surgery at Stroger Hospital to repair an undescended testicle. The boy went into cardiac arrest while recovering from the procedure and it took five minutes for medical personnel to begin trying to revive him. Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune 02/02/2013 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune |
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