January 9, 2012
Report: Hospital Errors Often Unreported
Martine Ehrenclou felt sidelined when her mother was admitted to the hospital for acute pancreatitis. (ABC News)
Monthly Archives: January 2012
January 9, 2012
Project Puts Records in the Patients’ Hands
In an old “Seinfeld†episode, Elaine goes to see a dermatologist about a rash, and is left sitting on the table in the exam room, alone with her medical chart. She opens the folder and almost immediately makes a sour … Read More
January 9, 2012
Government Lays Out Health-Law Defense
The Justice Department on Friday formally opened its Supreme Court defense of the Obama administration’s health-care overhaul, and in a twist said the recent bankruptcy of the one of the challengers bolsters one of the government’s key arguments. (Wall Street … Read More
January 6, 2012
Report Finds Most Errors at Hospitals Go Unreported
Hospital employees recognize and report only one out of seven errors, accidents and other events that harm Medicare patients while they are hospitalized, federal investigators say in a new report. (NY Times)
January 6, 2012
First ‘mixed embryo’ monkeys born
For the first time, scientists have produced monkeys composed of cells taken from separate embryos. (BBC News)
January 5, 2012
‘Octomom’ case stuns one-child public in China
The photo was undeniably cute: a studio portrait of eight babies in identical onesies and perky white cotton hats, sporting an array of expressions from giggly to goofy, baffled to bawling. (AP)
January 5, 2012
Health insurance and ‘genetic discrimination’: Are rules needed?
Brynne Stainsby grew up knowing she had a good chance of being diagnosed with Huntington’s disease one day. (Globe and Mail)
January 5, 2012
Missing Medical Data Could Harm Patients
Big clinical trials—to test new drugs or procedures—generate reams of important data about safety and efficacy. Only a fraction of that information sees the light of day, a publishing practice that could put patients at risk, according to a special … Read More
January 5, 2012
FBI crackdown on unproven stem cell therapies
They are the modern equivalent of snake oil merchants: clinics that charge desperately ill people thousands for unproven stem cell “cures”. Now the US federal government is cracking down on one of the most notorious – and the defendants include … Read More
January 5, 2012
Assisted suicide: ‘Strong case for legalisation’
There is a “strong case” for allowing assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill in England and Wales, a group of experts says. (BBC News)
January 4, 2012
Stem cell research on donor eggs often not disclosed
Many U.S. fertility clinics don’t tell egg donors that embryos made from their eggs may end up being used in stem cell research, according to a new government survey. (Reuters)
January 4, 2012
An Oregon study points to better end-of-life care planning
In a cardiac arrest, Helen Hobbs says she doesn’t want medics to attempt to revive her. Nor does the 93-year-old Portland resident want to be kept alive with a feeding tube or a breathing machine if it comes to that. … Read More
January 4, 2012
Handful of states promise physicians online access to advance directives
Virginia has become the latest state to launch an online registry for advance directives that eventually will be connected to a statewide health information exchange. (American Medical News)
January 4, 2012
Argentina fines drug company over vaccine trial
A medical group in Argentina is asking for more drug-testing regulations in the South American country after a officials fined pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline for alleged irregularities in a pediatric pneumonia vaccine trial. (CNN)
January 4, 2012
Older mothers, fertility treatments driving a big increase in twin births, new CDC report says
The number of twins born in the U.S. soared over the last three decades, mostly the result of test-tube babies and women waiting to have children until their 30s, when the chances of twins increase. (Washington Post)
January 3, 2012
Stem Cell Shots Reverse Aging in Mice
Injecting younger cells into aging bodies could help people live longer — and stronger — at least according to new research performed on mice. (ABC News)
January 3, 2012
F.D.A. Finds Short Supply of Attention Deficit Drugs
Medicines to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are in such short supply that hundreds of patients complain daily to the Food and Drug Administration that they are unable to find a pharmacy with enough pills to fill their prescriptions. (NY … Read More
January 3, 2012
Nowhere to Go, Patients Linger in Hospitals, at a High Cost
Hundreds of patients have been languishing for months or even years in New York City hospitals, despite being well enough to be sent home or to nursing centers for less-expensive care, because they are illegal immigrants or lack sufficient insurance … Read More
January 3, 2012
States say it’s time to rethink medical marijuana
Medical marijuana advocates are hoping state governments can succeed where their efforts have failed by asking federal authorities to reclassify pot as a drug with medical use. (CNN)
January 3, 2012
For some in need, Facebook is a route to new kidney
Here’s another reason for holdouts to join the social media site Facebook: It’s a great place to find a kidney. (Washington Post)
