A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics examines the association between epidural analgesia during labor and the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in offspring. Researchers looked at a multiethnic population-based clinical birth cohort of 147,895 children who were delivered vaginally between 1/1/2008 and 12/31/2015. Children were followed up to the age of 1 year […]
According to a new report published in the British Medical Journal, 1 in 20 patients worldwide are harmed as a result of medical mistakes made during their medical care. Half of these errors are preventable and 12% of the preventable errors led to permanent disability or death. Although the report is the product of an […]
By Holly B. Haines and Elie A. Maalouf[1] March 2018 I. Introduction In the last ten years, the United States healthcare industry has experienced a largescale shift from paper to electronic health records (EHRs).[2] Ushered in by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), the advent of health information technology[3] […]
Studies that have identified a connection between electronic health record (EHR) errors and medical malpractice claims divide the problems with EHR into two categories: system-related and user-related errors. Flaws in the design of the EHR software are the major source of the system-related errors. For instance, many EHR templates lack sufficient space for documentation, precluding […]
The Early Offer Alternative In Medical Malpractice Litigation: A Statutory Trap to Limit Liability INTRODUCTION On June 27, 2012, over the veto of the Governor of New Hampshire and over the objections of the two largest medical malpractice insurers in New Hampshire, medical malpractice plaintiffs’ lawyers, the New Hampshire Association for Justice, and New Hampshire […]
Medical errors kill more Americans annually than motor vehicle accidents, firearms and suicide combined, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Despite this, hospitals and medical providers are doing very little to determine how to prevent them from happening. Indeed, discussions about how to prevent medical errors usually only occur in very […]
According to a 2013 study in the Journal of Patient Safety, medical errors are responsible for 400,000 deaths in the United States each year. That makes preventable medical errors the third leading cause of death (after cancer and heart disease). One of the largest contributing factors is that patients do not have a single person […]
Last week, Forbes magazine published an article on the state of the nation’s healthcare system in light of Republican presidential candidates’ criticism of Donald Trump’s healthcare plan. The Forbes article used the example of Joan Rivers’ death to highlight how the system should be fixed. The article noted that Rivers’ death was caused by a […]
An Illinois woman has filed a birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of her minor child after the child sustained brachial plexus injuries during childbirth. On February 20, 2007, the expectant mother was admitted to Alton Memorial Hospital for induction of labor. Dr. Saji Jacob chose a vacuum assisted delivery . Despite this assistive […]
Concord Hospital, like many New Hampshire hospitals, faces a serious problem with unlawful use of prescription narcotic medications by employees. Just two months ago, Nurse Cheryl Garand was charged with three felony counts of unlawful administration of fentanyl to patients. Such unlawful acts are not uncommon in the healthcare industry; although prohibited, healthcare workers sometimes […]
