In our last post, we began discussing the problems of alarm fatigue and auditory masking, the difference being that auditory masking makes it extremely difficult if not impossible for health care providers to distinguish different types of alarms, regardless of...
Doctor Errors
When can a medical professional be held liable for emergency aid?
In our last post, we began looking at a recent Ohio case in which it was ruled that the protection offered by Ohio's Good Samaritan statute extends not only to medical professionals offering assistance at the scene of an emergency, but also to ordinary individuals...
Ohio Supreme Court deals with limits of Good Samaritan statute
Readers may or may not be familiar with the concept of the Good Samaritan in the law of negligence. Ohio, like other states, has its own protections for Good Samaritans. Ohio's statute specifically provides that individuals who administer emergency care or treatment...
Physician negligence and misconduct: two separate issues that often go together for patients, P.2
In our previous post, we began looking at the distinction between physician misconduct and medical negligence, and the different avenues through which these things are handled. As we noted, medical malpractice and physician misconduct often go together, but it isn't...
Physician negligence and misconduct: two separate issues that often go together for patients, P.1
Physician misconduct and negligence often go hand in hand, despite the fact that there is a different avenue for handling each. Negligence refers to malpractice, which is dealt with through the tort system in the courts. Misconduct, by contrast, is handled by state...
Study: Lion’s share of malpractice claims linked to only a few doctors
If asked to identify what characteristics we believed physicians who are more prone to committing medical malpractice would share, there's a very good chance that most of us would list such items as inexperience and youth as a few of the traits of a potentially...
Knowing right from left doesn’t come easy to all, even doctors
All of us certainly have not gone to and graduated from medical school. We like to believe that our medical providers who have accomplished such an achievement are some of the smartest people we know. While many of our doctors and nurses are profoundly...
I am pregnant. Can I trust my doctor?
It might sound like an odd question: "Can I trust my doctor?" One would assume that by making the appointment, putting oneself on the exam table for medical evaluation, and answering extremely personal questions that their doctor has their trust. Still, it is normal...
Ohio doctor guilty of fraud — malpractice, too?
He performed unneeded heart procedures, ordered gratuitous tests and overbilled insurers, an Ohio jury has decided. After being found guilty of health care fraud and money laundering, the cardiologist northeast of Warren County must await his sentence. His sentencing...
She listened to her heart
When she felt chest pain, she did what most people would do: she sought medical attention and advice from specialists. In February of 2010, she went to a cardiac care center and was examined by a doctor there. He gave her the bad news: your heart is weak, he said. But...