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Most clinical trials assessing adverse medical events (AMEs) have focused on inpatient care. Now there's a study looking at AMEs in private practice and it shows that the numbers are about the same. Most AMEs are from surgeries, diagnostic testing, and treatment errors. Every year there are about 11,000 paid malpractice suits that represent the tip of the...

When cameras are watching more doctors and nurses wash their hands. Less than 7% washed their hands immediately when entering or before leaving a patient's room. under normal conditions. This number shot up to 88% when cameras were installed to monitor hand washing. With hospital acquired infections reaching 5% and 100,000 deaths annually from them, hand...

According to the CDC, medical tourism refers to people who travel to foreign countries to obtain medical care at a reduced price. Generally, the services most often sought are for cosmetic surgery, dentistry, cardiac surgery, and orthopedic surgery. The cost for these surgeries is in the range of 10-20% of what it would cost in the US and are done in 5 star facilities. Common...

A survey of US primary care MDs revealed that 42% believe they administer too much medical treatment. The reasons are related to malpractice concerns, clinical performance measures, inadequate time with their patients. They believe that are paid more to do more and exposed to legal punishment if they do less. Medicine is now a business first and a service when...

  A JAMA survey of almost 2000 doctors and nurses in the ICU in January of 2012 revealed that they believed there is often too much care adminstered to patients. Only occasionally was there insufficient care. Advance directives need to be honored and treatment decisions often require input from multiple sources that include the family, physician, spiritual...

  You can't really blame MDs for practicing defensively when they are trying to do the best job they possibly can for their patients and they don't want to be involved in a malpractice case if they make an error. In a study of 1200 orthopedic surgeons 96% admitted practicing defensively. This came to an estimated $2 billion cost annually. Many...

  Defensive medicine leads to ordering too many tests that are often costly and potentially dangerous. It leads to skyrocketing insurance premiums but it tends to protect physicians from malpractice suits. What is needed is a more personal relationship between physicians and patients that includes patients in the decision-making process in assessment...