When Hurts Don"t Heal: Identifying Medical Malpractice

 

Medical Malpractice is a professional blunder or negligence by a health provider which causes the patient to suffer in various ways, or in worst cases, even lose their life. There are many types of medical malpractice, but the outcomes are the same; the patient is always on the losing end.

 

Incorrect Diagnosis

We expect the medical professionals to know what they are doing. But if they erred in the diagnosis, which resulted in wrong or deferred treatments causing more injury and suffering to the patients, then they can be charged with malpractice.

 

No Supporting Laboratory Tests

Health providers are expected to send patients for laboratory exams to confirm and support their diagnosis and provide them with information as to how to proceed with the patient’s case. If they did not, they may not be providing the patient with the standard care that is necessary.

 

Healing Never Happens

We go to our health provider hoping that our illnesses will be healed. If our condition doesn’t get better and our ailment is not cured, there must be something wrong somewhere. Perhaps you’re experiencing a misdiagnosis, a wrong prescription, delayed treatment–whatever the case, the result is your continued suffering.

 

You Did Not Consent to The Treatment

Patients should always be notified about their problem and the surgeries or procedures to be done for their treatment, so they can make a decision regarding their health. Health providers are not supposed to let their patients undergo a particular procedure without their informed consent.

 

Wrong Devices and Interpretations

The erroneous use of defective or wrong medical devices can cause injury and even death to the patient. Errors in translating X-Ray and ultrasounds which results in misdiagnosis and eventually injury or even death of the patient.

 

Prescription Errors

A patient may be injured if the wrong medication was prescribed by the healthcare provider or if the dosage that they specified was too high or too low.

 

Unresponsive Doctor

A health provider who fails to provide relevant information to the patient is neglectful; part of proper medical treatment is enlightening the patients of their condition at all times. They should always respond to patients’ questions about their health situation.

 

No Follow-Up

After a procedure or surgery, the health provider should inform the patient the outcome of the procedure, and what the next stage of treatment would be. Leaving the patient hanging with no information is negligent of the health provider.

 

There are many other ways of identifying if you have been mistreated by a healthcare professional. Finding a new doctor you can trust to administer proper treatment is a good step towards healing. Similarly, finding a medical malpractice lawyer is a good step towards getting restitution.

 

Informational Credit to McLaughlin & Lauricella, P.C.

 

Categories: heal, health, health provider, health providers, hurts, malpractice, malpractice nbsp, Medical, medical malpractice, nbsp, patient, provider

Does Plastic Surgery Actually Make You More Attractive?

Is anti-ageing wellness the same as looking attractive? Not according to a new study, as researchers have found that even though facial plastic surgery may turn back the hands of time, it may not, alas, also boost your attractiveness.

 

For the study, which only involved 50 participants, the researchers showed the volunteers photos of 49 patients either before or after facial plastic surgery. The participants were asked to guess the age of each patient, as well as subjectively ranking their attractiveness. The results of the study revealed that while surgical intervention did indeed manage to shave a few years off the patients’ perceived ages, it did nothing to boost anyone’s overall level of attractiveness. According to study lead author Dr. Joshua Zimm, an attending surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Institute of North Shore-LIJ Health System in New York City, the issue here is that patients’ expectations don’t match up with how the surgery will actually affect their wellbeing.

 

‘When we’re doing this kind of surgery I’m telling patients that they’ll look fresher, more energetic and less tired, and we have some data in the literature that indicates you will look younger, as we found,’ Zimm notes. ‘But clearly I cannot say that they will look more attractive.’ However, Zimm is quick to point out that the findings are based on the work of just one surgeon – maybe the 49 patients should have gone to someone else! – and there are also limitations to the design of the study. ‘This is not the final word on the subject,’ Zimm assures. ‘But certainly I think you can take away from this that if you’re looking to have aesthetic facial surgery to look younger, we’ve shown that you will. Beyond that … it is not clear that everyone will definitely look more attractive.’

 

For the study, which was published in the online edition of the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, the team of researchers focused on certain clients at a Toronto private-practice facility. Between 2006 and 2010, all of the clients had either had a face lift, neck lift, upper or lower eyelid lift, or brow-lift, and they were all between the ages of 42 and 73 years old. The researchers took facial photos – in which makeup and jewellery were forbidden – both before and six-months after the surgery. The patients were also banned from having additional cosmetic procedures (such as Botox injections or laser skin resurfacing) between the before-and-after photo sessions. The raters only ever saw a pre-surgery or a post-surgery photo of a particular patient – never both.

 

Zimm asserts that the findings do not accurately portray how your friends and relatives might react to any surgery you might have, as they will have a very clear frame of reference for assessing both age and beauty. He adds that the researchers may have created a ‘kind of subconscious attractiveness bias’ by asking the raters to assess age and attractiveness at the same time. However, he comments, ‘At the end of the day the goal is to make people happy, so we have to know what’s possible in order to determine if any particular patient is someone I can help.’

 

However, Dr. Laurie Casas, a senior clinician educator at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, argues, ‘Certainly when I see a new patient I have to decide if what the patient is after is achievable or even realistic. And it’s a very complex process because the perception of beauty has to be evaluated by both the surgeon and the patient. The end game is that they want to look more attractive, but this study doesn’t get me anywhere with that process because it’s impossible to make any sense out of the data. It’s totally subjective, so the results have no meaning.’

Categories: Attractiveness, facial plastic, patient, Patients, plastic surgery, Research, study, surgery

7 Ways EMRs Streamline Health Care

The problem of health care is not just one of cost, it’s one of infrastructure. Simply put, hospitals and practices operate inefficiently. The paper transfer of medical records leaves too much room for error, and the patient suffers in the interim.

 

Health technology is in deployment, but will take time to truly become protocol for hospitals. In the interim, practices are discovering some amazing benefits to electronic medical record adoption.

 

Billing

Patient billing is a perpetual source of headache for hospitals, usually because it involves so many cogs. Staff must speak with insurance companies and provide verification of treatment before being notified of whether they qualify for payment, and then the patient is billed the remainder. The process is a hassle that will be made much simpler as electronic medical records become the industry standard. When doctors can accurately record a patient’s diagnosis as it happens, the room for dispute shrinks and the process becomes more efficient.

 

Prescriptions

Prescriptions will be filed digitally, but for now doctors can use EMRs to record patient medication usage and treatment recommendations. Doctors can currently use EMR technology to lookup pharmacies for a patient, make recommendations and track the patient’s medications schedule remotely. In the future, this data may include patient check-ins to accurately record times that medication has been taken.

 

Diagnosis

A patient’s diagnosis based around EMR technology will incorporate historical data about past conditions and family knowledge as well. Doctors will have a top-level perspective of a patient’s medical history and list of common allergies. The patient will be relied upon less for data, hopefully increasing the accuracy of a prognosis.

 

Treatments

Treating a patient off-site will become more accurate as EMR technology incorporates with applications in the home. Patietns can already use their smartphones to track how many calories they eat or how often they exercise, in the future we may see technology that tracks blood pressure or changes to glucose levels in real-time. These sources of data will help doctors diagnose a patient as they are medicated, resulting in a more accurate treatment schedule with predictable outcomes.

 

Scheduling

Patient scheduling currently integrates with a doctor’s calendar using medical scheduling software. Simple additions like color coding help prioritize a doctor’s schedule and give staff easy reference when a patient calls in. The hope is that this reduces time on the phone, allowing staff more time to focus on patient needs in the practice itself. In the future, patients may schedule or even fulfill appointments online using video chat software.

 

Accuracy

With more methods of collecting data comes greater accuracy in that data. A patient can carry a pedometer, but an app designed to track a patient’s walking and eating habits serves benefit to both parties. Instead of hitting a number, the goals are more quantifiable. Health professionals hope that patients will be more enthusiastic about their own care, but that they will use these tools correctly. The data collected is only useful if the patient is honest, like a GPS tracker that is driven rather than walked around a park.

 

Efficiency

With greater access to data, doctors spend less time chasing after patient data. Things like patient history and family genes will be part of that profile in the future, giving doctors an at-a-glance understanding of what’s wrong with a patient.

 

The practices that focus most on preparation stand to gain the most from the technology. Build your health infrastructure with your staff in mind, encourage inclusion and sponsor programs that teach how the technology works.

Categories: accurately record, care, data, electronic medical, EMR, emr technology, health, health care, medical records, nbsp, patient, technology

How Can Alternative Medicine Tackle Your Sex Problems?

You may not like to talk about sexual health concerns, but this is the first step in getting your relationship back on track. After you and your partner address these issues together, alternative practices can help to bolster your sexual wellbeing. However, if you feel a little cautious about the weird and wacky things involved in alternative medicine, we have four experts in various fields who have told us how they treat sexual wellness problems.

 

1. Nutritional Therapy: According to Ken Babal, staff nutritionist, Erewhon Natural Foods, ‘When there are breeding problems with animals, usually the first question asked by the vet is how have you been feeding the animal. Unfortunately, we don’t ask that question often enough of humans. Diet has a large part to do with that. In fact, sexual performance is a little bit like an athletic event. And you’ve got to be fit, do all the things that you need to do for good health in general: moderation with alcohol, exercise, rest, sound nutrition — all of those things. And a lot of times when I see clients, many of them are smokers. They’re overweight. They’re not fit. So that’s something we have to call to their attention. And there’s no quick solutions. You have to cultivate good habits. But once patients see the connection, they know what they have to do. Certain supplements, though, can be helpful as well.’

 

2. Ayurveda: ‘A lot of times, particularly in couples who have been together for a while and not feeling sexual, there’s a lot of internalised anger and rage and disappointment with the other person, which gets expressed as withholding of sexuality, or the feelings of passion don’t even arise,’ says Dr. David Simon, Neurologist and co-founder of the Chopra Centre. ‘One technique which we draw upon is from the Native American culture, where we encourage couples to use a talking object. Like a talking stick that the Navajo tribe used to use. When they have a discussion or there’s something that they want to talk about, they take turns while literally holding the object…It’s amazing how giving people the opportunity to be heard starts to help to process emotional hurts that they’ve been carrying around and also opens up the possibility for intimacy, which then leads to sexual passion.’

 

3. Homeopathy: Dr. Lauren Feder, physician and homeopath in private practice, notes, ‘I see a lot of women that have had babies, and a lot of women who are nursing, or have a lot of children and don’t have a strong sex drive…What I find is that if sepia is given, people start to feel better about themselves. They stop yelling as much, they’re more patient, they have more energy, and low and behold, the libido comes up and their sex drive increases.’

 

4. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): ‘There are actually many things that we can offer,’ Dr. John Chen, practitioner of TCM and lecturer at USC, asserts. ‘There are a lot of herbs that are commonly used to either facilitate the growth or maturity of the reproductive system. There are ones that will increase the secretion of sex hormones. And there are ones that will enhance sexual desire. And all these in a way do go hand in hand…When the patient comes in, we try to find out exactly what the problem is. Because let’s say if a patient has impotence, there are many reasons why this could be. It could be psychological. It could be physical. It could be a complication of a disease, or it could be a side effect of a drug. So we try to identify exactly what is the cause. Then, we will address both the cause and the symptom simultaneously.’

Categories: Alternative, alternative medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, nbsp, patient, problems, Sex Drive, sexual, traditional chinese medicine

How Can Alternative Medicine Tackle Your Sex Problems?

You may not like to talk about sexual health concerns, but this is the first step in getting your relationship back on track. After you and your partner address these issues together, alternative practices can help to bolster your sexual wellbeing. However, if you feel a little cautious about the weird and wacky things involved in alternative medicine, we have four experts in various fields who have told us how they treat sexual wellness problems.

 

1. Nutritional Therapy: According to Ken Babal, staff nutritionist, Erewhon Natural Foods, ‘When there are breeding problems with animals, usually the first question asked by the vet is how have you been feeding the animal. Unfortunately, we don’t ask that question often enough of humans. Diet has a large part to do with that. In fact, sexual performance is a little bit like an athletic event. And you’ve got to be fit, do all the things that you need to do for good health in general: moderation with alcohol, exercise, rest, sound nutrition — all of those things. And a lot of times when I see clients, many of them are smokers. They’re overweight. They’re not fit. So that’s something we have to call to their attention. And there’s no quick solutions. You have to cultivate good habits. But once patients see the connection, they know what they have to do. Certain supplements, though, can be helpful as well.’

 

2. Ayurveda: ‘A lot of times, particularly in couples who have been together for a while and not feeling sexual, there’s a lot of internalised anger and rage and disappointment with the other person, which gets expressed as withholding of sexuality, or the feelings of passion don’t even arise,’ says Dr. David Simon, Neurologist and co-founder of the Chopra Centre. ‘One technique which we draw upon is from the Native American culture, where we encourage couples to use a talking object. Like a talking stick that the Navajo tribe used to use. When they have a discussion or there’s something that they want to talk about, they take turns while literally holding the object…It’s amazing how giving people the opportunity to be heard starts to help to process emotional hurts that they’ve been carrying around and also opens up the possibility for intimacy, which then leads to sexual passion.’

 

3. Homeopathy: Dr. Lauren Feder, physician and homeopath in private practice, notes, ‘I see a lot of women that have had babies, and a lot of women who are nursing, or have a lot of children and don’t have a strong sex drive…What I find is that if sepia is given, people start to feel better about themselves. They stop yelling as much, they’re more patient, they have more energy, and low and behold, the libido comes up and their sex drive increases.’

 

4. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): ‘There are actually many things that we can offer,’ Dr. John Chen, practitioner of TCM and lecturer at USC, asserts. ‘There are a lot of herbs that are commonly used to either facilitate the growth or maturity of the reproductive system. There are ones that will increase the secretion of sex hormones. And there are ones that will enhance sexual desire. And all these in a way do go hand in hand…When the patient comes in, we try to find out exactly what the problem is. Because let’s say if a patient has impotence, there are many reasons why this could be. It could be psychological. It could be physical. It could be a complication of a disease, or it could be a side effect of a drug. So we try to identify exactly what is the cause. Then, we will address both the cause and the symptom simultaneously.’

Categories: Alternative, alternative medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, nbsp, patient, problems, Sex Drive, sexual, traditional chinese medicine

Stuck In the Past: Caring For Those With Alzheimers

Helping a loved one who has contracted Alzheimer’s disease can be a difficult and emotionally draining experience. However, there are several techniques that you can utilize to help reduce the strain on everyone involved. As an added bonus, some of these techniques can even help the Alzheimer’s patient improve their quality of life and retain some of their most important memories for longer.

 

 

Top Tips for Alzheimer’s Care

 

1. Be Careful When Creating a Schedule – It is imperative to help an Alzheimer’s patient by developing a daily routine to reduce their level of confusion. For example, it is a good idea to schedule their meals at the same time each day. Additionally, it is likely that there will be certain times of the day when they tend to be in a calmer state. Once you have determined when these times are, you can use it to your advantage to schedule any necessary medical appointments and other difficult tasks.

 

2. Help Your Loved One Stay Involved – Many Alzheimer’s caregivers are tempted to simply take care of everything instead of involving their loved one. After all, this removes the necessity of getting the patient to cooperate with the task at hand. However, keeping them involved in almost every aspect of their daily life can actually help them with their memory and self-esteem.

 

3. Consider Moving Them into an Assisted Living Facility – Alzheimer’s disease is a heartbreaking condition that can be emotionally devastating for the patient’s family members. Additionally, many home caregivers are not properly equipped to meet all of the patient’s needs. Therefore, it is important to consider moving your loved one into an assisted living facility that specializes in Alzheimer’s care. Chateau Vestavia, an assisted living community in Alabama, offers a life enrichment program called Memory Care for residents who suffer from Alzheimers.

 

4. Remove Unnecessary Distractions – It can be extremely difficult for an Alzheimer’s patient to focus during conversations, mealtime and other essential components of their day if there is background noise or other unnecessary distractions. For example, you should never leave the TV on if you are attempting to have a conversation with your loved one.

 

5. Patience Is Key – It is understandable that dealing with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease can be stressful, but you should never allow yourself to lose your patience with them. Doing so would only confuse them, and it could also cause them to feel so stressed out that they no longer feel comfortable with you around. Therefore, if you feel like it is possible that you will lash out at them, you should temporarily remove yourself from the situation.

 

In most cases, it makes sense for an Alzheimer’s patient to move into an assisted living facility. After all, these communities offer a high level of specialized care that can help improve the quality of their life. Additionally, it will help remove your burden of being a personal caregiver, and this will enable you to focus your attention solely on having good experiences with your loved one. This can make the process of dealing with Alzheimer’s easier for everyone involved, and it can also help assuage any feelings of guilt you have that are associated with caring for them at home.

Writer Melanie Fleury has a grandmother-in-law that suffers from Alzheimer’s. She sees the heartbreak on the faces of her children when their great grandmother does not recognize them. Chateau Vestavia “embraces what science has proven effective in the fight against Alzheimer’s and Dementia”. The website of the Chateau was used to learn more about caring for those with memory conditions.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/see-through-the-eye-of-g/8368764205/

Categories: alzheimer, alzheimers, care, Caring, chateau vestavia, involved, living facility, nbsp, past, patient, unnecessary distractions

Surrogate Sex Partners: Are They Legitimate?

We often think of people going to therapy for emotional problems such as depression, relationship worries or eating disorders – but one of the fastest growing trends in therapy is the use of sex therapists. Sex therapists are specialised therapists that talk to their patients about sexual issues and problems to help them get the most out of sex and enjoy  their lives some more. While sex has traditionally been a taboo issue, and people would shun away from talking about it in this way, we have been increasingly seeing an uptake in sex therapy sessions as people become more open about their sexuality and what they want to experience sexually.

It is also true that increasingly, sex therapists are seeing patients for whom talking just is not enough to deal with their problems. These patients require practice in the bedroom and either have no spouse or partner, or have found themselves in a situation where they are unable to have sex with their spouse or partner. These patients are in a desperate situation, but there is now help at hand in the form of sex therapists who become surrogate partners for their patients. These therapists use a ‘hands on’ approach in order to help out their patients who are having problems with physical intimacy. While in some cases this might just involve holding hands, flirting and touching, in others it can result in the therapist actually having sexual intercourse with the patient.

The use of surrogate sex partners is actually quite rare – most patients find that talking through their problems is enough. But there have been a growing number of women who are frustrated by their sexual issues who are turning to sex surrogates in order for them to get the most out of life. For these women, their physical or mental issues had been doing too much damage to them to simply talk through and sort it out with conventional therapy.

Unsurprisingly, this is a highly controversial practice. It is easy to imagine the predatory sex therapist using their position of power and authority over the vulnerable patient – and yet sex therapists who use this practice stringently argue that this practice is being used to help the patients, rather than something that could possibly ruin their sex life altogether. Indeed, despite the controversy, there are no specific laws that prohibit a sex therapist from having sex with their patient as a treatment. Many therapists argue that sex has a place in the therapy because it is able to give a safe environment for the patient, in way that no other place. Indeed the therapists say that sex is the right kind of therapy in a number of cases.

The sex therapists often work with patients firstly by giving them a broader understanding of sex and normal sex that perhaps they had never received before. Then they using techniques to build up their communication skills and self-confidence, as well as finding ways to help the patient feel more comfortable with physical intimacy. This can then move on to very light physical contact, such as holding hands or long embraces – in fact, sexual intercourse, if it happens at all, would occur a very long way into the process and only with the right kind of patient who would benefit from it.

There are dangers for the therapist as well as the patient. There is always the possibility that the patient will become too attached to the therapist after the therapy is complete, and will consider the therapy to actually be a relationship in which the therapist might love them. This can obviously cause very serious problems.

Categories: holding hands, patient, physical intimacy, sex partners, sex therapist, sex therapists, sex therapy, sexual intercourse, sexual issues, surrogate, surrogate sex, therapists

At Home Hospice: 5 Ways to Care for an Elderly Loved One

When an elderly loved one is approaching the end of their life, setting up an at-home hospice can offer an option to families who want to ensure their loved one enjoys the best quality of life possible. Fortunately, this can be arranged by making a few simple preparations that will help the caregiver tend to the patient’s needs. Here are five important ways to provide optimum care for a loved one when setting up an at-home hospice.

 

Set Up a Comfortable Room

The first thing a person will need to do when setting up a home hospice is choose a room that has easy access for the caregiver and is comfortable for the patient. Ideally, this room should be on the ground floor and located near a sink or bathroom facility. Then, a safe bed should be comfortably arranged, and a few personal touches can be added to make the patient feel at home.

 

Plan for Personal Hygiene

In an at-home hospice, personal hygiene is of the utmost importance to prevent bedsores and skin rashes that can afflict those unable to leave their bed. Therefore, it is important to create a plan for bathing and washing a loved one’s hair. Those who are bedridden can be bathed using a basin of water and a soft washcloth. It is also important to change the bed linens frequently.

 

Arrange for Medicine Management

Elderly patients frequently take several different medications that will need to be managed by either an in-home care provider or a designated member of the person’s family. Keeping a log of which medicines were given and at what time they were provided can help everyone keep track of when it is time for another dose.

 

Stock Up on Medical Supplies

Depending upon a patient’s medical needs, they may require specific medical supplies. Catheters are a common need for those who are unable to leave the bed that can increase comfort. Breathing apparatuses and other equipment should also be on hand, and all caregivers should be trained regarding how to provide the right types of medical support.

Provide Companionship and Comfort

Once the physical needs for the patient have been handled, the next step is to provide the companionship and comfort that makes at-home hospice care the preferred choice for many families. Arrange a schedule for caregivers that ensures the patient always has someone nearby to tend to their needs.

 

Assisting a loved one through the final stages of life can be made easier through a well-planned at-home hospice set up. By providing your loved one with everything they need to be physically and mentally comfortable, you will be able to ease their transition while providing them with compassionate care.

Categories: care, elderly, Home, home hospice, Hospice, medical supplies, nbsp, patient, personal hygiene

Could Phone Apps Help to Improve Asthma Education and Care?

Apps are a good way to remind patients to get vaccines, and educate them on ways to self-manage their chronic asthma and allergies. This is according to researchers at the National Association of Paediatric Nurse Practitioners 2013 Annual Meeting, who believe that smartphone apps are becoming an increasingly viable solution to overcome gaps in traditional patient reminder systems, and a useful patient education tool.

The problem with traditional vaccine outreach reminder methods, such as telephone calls, mailed paper reminders, and in-person home visits, is that they are dependent on the reliability of your patient contact information. According to Jessica L. Peck, DNP, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CNL, of Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, ‘Providers have expressed a need for alternative recall methods that are not so time, labour and financially intensive. With 194 US smart phone users projected by the year 2015, the opportunity to harness technology for this purpose is present.’

Kathy Chojnacki RN, MSN, CPNP-AC, and Jodi Shroba RN, MSN, CPNP, both of Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, cited another wellness benefit that apps provide; improving health literacy among patients with chronic asthma and allergies. They wrote in a poster session, ‘Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are become more cost effective and more readily available forms of electronic communication. The healthcare system is primed and ready to utilize these devices in clinical practice.’

For their poster, Chojnacki and Shroba assessed the overall benefits and limitations of several apps for allergy, asthma and rhinitis, as well as exploring opportunities for integrating mobile technology into clinical practice. The AshtmaMD app revealed several benefits to asthmatic wellness, providing methods that patients can use to reduce symptomatic days, asthma-related ER visits, rescue therapy use and need for inhaler use to provide symptom relief.

However, some of the apps used inaccurate or incomplete medical information from online sources, had a lack of wireless internet capabilities, reduced face-to-face interactions between providers and patients and were deemed to be too costly to implement in institution-wide systems. Yet, in spite of these concerns, the authors concluded ‘the increased use of smart phones and mobile devices provide the perfect climate for integration of applications into patient care.’

Could Phone Apps Help to Improve Asthma Education and Care?

Categories: Apps, Asthma, chronic asthma, clinical practice, Education, mobile devices, msn cpnp, patient, Patients, Reminders, rn msn