Posted on May 18, 2009 in Our Blog,Public Safety

An interesting article in the New York Times explores the sad state of food safety today. As more and more food manufacturers look to global suppliers, and as the supply chain becomes more complex, safety is often overlooked or simply becomes too difficult to oversee. The article looks to the salmonella food contamination outbreak in… read more

Posted on May 12, 2009 in Our Blog,Patient Care

Childbirth and aging can have some unpleasant effects on your bladder, but you may want to think twice before undergoing any medical procedures to fix the problem. Nobody wants to leak urine, so it’s understandable that women suffering from stress urinary incontinence would turn to medical alternatives, such as a vaginal sling–a mesh device inserted… read more

Posted on April 28, 2009 in General,Our Blog

News about the possibility of a pandemic flu has thrown many people into a panic. The swine flu outbreak has already killed more than 150 people in Mexico, and more and more cases are being diagnosed each day. The World Health Organization raised the influenza pandemic alert level to phase 4, indicating human-to-human transmission of… read more

Posted on April 3, 2009 in Our Blog

The Yamaha Rhino is a top-selling ATV (all-terrain vehicle), but the number of rollover accidents associated with the Rhino has prompted Yamaha Motor Corp. to issue a recall of more than 145,000 Rhinos. The Rhino is purported to be more prone to rollovers than other ATVs due to its top-heavy design. Yamaha plans to repair… read more

Posted on March 20, 2009 in Our Blog

In a recent post I discussed the gag order some doctors are trying to place on their patients to prevent them from posting negative information online. As I mentioned, the Internet is everyone’s playground, and the rules are few. Now courtrooms are discovering this to be true, as jurors are dropping hints about trials and… read more

Posted on March 12, 2009 in Our Blog,Public Safety

The Oregonian just published a story on the number of Oregon workers who died on the job. In 2008, 44 Oregonians died while working, up from 35 deaths in 2007. The largest percentage of the deaths took place in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries: 15 workers, including 7 firefighters who died in a helicopter… read more

Posted on March 6, 2009 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Plastics have revolutionized our society but not always for the better. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you no doubt are aware of the current backlash against plastic bottles. The main culprit is the chemical bisphenol A, which is in polycarbonate, and which, in turn, is used to make all sorts of things, including… read more

Posted on February 27, 2009 in General,Our Blog,Patient Care

I don’t think you’d get many arguments from anyone that our nation’s health care system could use some help. So many are uninsured, and even those who are insured can’t always decipher their policies. HMO, PPO, copay, out-of-network, it’s hard to tell what’s what, and it’s just as confusing for the billing departments at hospitals… read more

Posted on February 24, 2009 in Our Blog,Public Safety

In a recent post we discussed Senate Bill 311, which proposes to increase liability caps on public agencies. Well, the Oregon Senate approved the bill, and now it will head to the House for a vote. Back in August 2008, a small plane crashed into a house in the coastal town of Gearhart, killing five… read more

Posted on February 17, 2009 in Our Blog

Last week, the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee approved SB 311 — a proposal to increase tort caps on public agencies, such as state entities and OHSU. The bill will now go to the House and Senate. Under old laws, the liability caps on public bodies was $200,000. Under the new proposal, the state damages cap… read more