Could mistakes in personal hygiene contribute to a deadly adenovirus outbreak in a medical facility near you and leave someone you love sicker than when they entered the hospital in the first place? Quite possibly. Despite the fact that few people have heard the term, adenoviruses are very common. They cause a variety of symptoms that are often mistaken for…
Medication errors are a common problem, whether you end up taking the wrong drug or too much of the right drug. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to relax your guard against medication errors even when you’re in the hospital. To guard against dangerous or fatal drug errors, take a proactive approach. The following suggestions can help you avoid many potential medication…
How well do you know your doctor? The odds are high, these days, that you got your doctor’s name off a list provided by your insurance company. The website created by the doctor’s clinic or office may have had some basic information about your doctor’s professional degree and education. You may have even been able to find a few reviews…
It’s difficult for a lot of people to speak up to a physician — even when they have a strong feeling that the doctor is making a mistake. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of issue that can prevent patients from challenging a bad diagnosis on a doctor’s part and lead to life-long consequences due to medical mistakes. For the most part,…
Most physicians and surgeons are highly professional — especially when a patient is under their care. However, one plastic surgeon seemed to think that dancing, singing and joking around about her patient’s bodies — on film, no less — during surgery was somehow acceptable. Then, to cap off the insulting behavior, she posted some of the videos to YouTube despite…
Would it shock you to find out that your doctor makes a mistake around one out of every 10 times he or she sees a patient? What if you found out that he or she actually made mistakes even more often? Unfortunately, doctors are statistically likely to make a mistake 15 percent of the time. Medical errors account for around…
When it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits in Ohio, there are several factors that can complicate the timeline imposed by state law for filing. Sometimes, the cause of an injury or the actual malpractice occurs without symptoms of the injury becoming apparent until later — in some cases, several years later. Ohio state law imposes a statute of limitations, or…
How good is your doctor? If you’re looking for a doctor that’s never been sued for malpractice, the odds are strong that you’ll have to hunt for a while before you find one. According to studies, about 55 percent of physicians in this country have faced malpractice suits. Half of those have been accused of negligence more than once. The…
The possibility that your doctor may have missed something important or just plain misdiagnosed you may not have entered your mind since your last visit — but it probably should. A five-year study indicates that diagnostic errors are the No. 1 reason behind medical malpractice claims. Diagnostic errors are responsible for 33 percent of patient injuries. Surgical errors, which generally…