Patient Education

U.S. Psyche Bedevils Health Effort

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

I hate the health-care system — but don’t you dare mess with it.

That’s a pretty apt summary of the American mind-set about health care — and not just now, but for decades. Something about health care calls forth from the national psyche a deep, almost inexplicable schizophrenia, as the latest, delayed effort to…

Seeking Safer Surgery

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

A 42-year-old woman dies shortly after undergoing five cosmetic procedures in a New York plastic surgeon’s office. A 53-year-old Tucson patient having liposuction and surgery to tighten her jaw line stops breathing. A 21-year-old man has a fatal reaction to anesthesia while undergoing minor genital surgery…

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Finding a Way to Ask Doctors Tough Questions

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Waiting to see his dermatologist about a skin rash, John Barnett heard the doctor sneeze loudly before he came into the exam room. The Seattle-area retiree says it took all his courage to ask, “Are you going to wash your hands before you examine me?”…

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In Just a Flash, Simple Surgery Can Turn Deadly

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

An electrical spark from a surgical tool sets off a fire in the breathing tube of a young tonsillectomy patient…..

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Communication Now Part of the Cure

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

USA Today
Erin Donaghue

Retired Boston physician Jonathan Fine became a patient advocate in 2004 when he realized communication between doctor and patient is often the first casualty of a major illness.

Miscommunication puts patients at greater risk of becoming victims of preventable medical errors, according to a report this year by the…

How to Size Up Your Hospital

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

The Wall Street Journal
Theo Francis

Amid a broad push to bring more accountability to the U.S. health-care system, consumers have access to a growing range of data on hospital quality.

Just a few years ago, only a handful of resources offered such data — some of it too broad to apply to…

Medicare Conditions of Coverage

Monday, June 11th, 2007

Part 416 – Ambulatory Surgical Services

Ten Things Your Hospital Won’t Tell You

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

Smart Money
Reshma Kapadia

Treatment errors are common, finding someone in charge can seem impossible, and patients sometimes wind up sicker than when they arrived. And here’s a tip: Try to avoid hospitals late at night and in July.

“Oops, wrong kidney.”

In recent years, errors in treatment have become a serious…