Posted on June 3, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care

Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, is losing an emergency room doctor. Dr. Jovan Ojdrovic has worked at Sacred Heart for 23 years but has decided to retire because he believes patient care and safety are being sacrificed for profit. These changes, Ojdrovic says, have happened over the past three years. Administration has put… read more

Posted on May 20, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care

The popular prescription diabetes drug Avandia will only be available in very limited distribution as of November 18, 2011. Avandia has been on the market for more than a decade, but a 2007 study indicated that it increased heart attack risk in patients with type 2 diabetes by about 40 percent. Also in 2007 David… read more

Posted on May 12, 2011 in Our Blog

Nearly 5 years ago a 210-foot construction crane collapsed in Bellevue, killing one person and seroiusly injuring the crane operator. This week the crane operator, Warren Yeakey, was awarded $1.45 million by a jury for economic and noneconomic damages. The award was considerably less than what Yeakey and his wife asked for in the suit–$12… read more

Posted on April 26, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care,Patient Death

There’s a new measurement tool in town for assessing hospital errors and safety, and it’s finding that there are more errors than we originally thought. In fact, according to this tool, a third of patients in the U.S. will be victims of a medical error during hospital stays. The new tool was developed at the… read more

Posted on April 7, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care,Patient Death

Legacy Health of Portland implemented a new initiative two years ago with the aim of lowering infection rates and patient deaths, and it looks like they have succeeded. According to an article in the Oregonian, infection rates have dropped by about 45 percent, and patient deaths declined about 14 percent over the past two years…. read more

Posted on March 18, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

There have been quite a few recalls issued this past week. While I would love to provide some commentary, I think the recalls speak for themselves. Please think about manufacturer as well as individual responsibility as you read through these: Toddler jeans: About 1,600 pairs of girl’s toddler jeans from Parigi Group were recalled because… read more

Posted on February 1, 2011 in Our Blog

Radiologist Dr. Bruce Saffran of New Jersey just won $482 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson. In 2008 Saffran won $501 million in a suit against Boston Scientific Corp. over the same device, and he has an upcoming case over the same device against Abbott Laboratories. Saffran held a… read more

Posted on December 21, 2010 in Our Blog,Public Safety

An article in the Insurance Journal indicates that texting bans are not adding to a decline in accidents due to distracted drivers. In fact, a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found an increase in auto crashes (or at least in insurance claims due to car accidents) in four states after texting bans… read more

Posted on November 30, 2010 in Our Blog,Public Safety

When it comes to tainted food, bacteria does not discriminate. You may think you are purchasing safer food if you go to a gourmet market or one that specializes in organic or specialty foods, but you might be mistaken. In fact, nationwide market Whole Foods recently announced a recall of seven cheddar cheeses made by… read more

Posted on November 19, 2010 in Our Blog,Patient Care,Patient Death

We’ve blogged before about cases of neglect and worse in nursing homes across the country. Recently a Kentucky family won $42.75 million in a lawsuit against a nursing home. The lawsuit argued that severe neglect by the nursing home caused the death of the family’s 92-year-old father. The patient stayed at the nursing home for… read more