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Gastroschisis Birth Defect: Everything You Need to Know

Published on February 8, 2016

Finding out you’re going to be a parent is often a very exciting and simultaneously frightening thing. You hope for a safe pregnancy and delivery – for both the mother and child’s sake, you worry with “what ifs” and do everything you can to avoid them. The truth is – sometimes what’s within your power Read More…

National Birth Defect Prevention Month

Published on January 13, 2016

If you’re currently pregnant or have children, you may have researched different birth defects at some point in time. We’ve written about a few on our blog, as well, including those associated with antidepressants or the popular medication often prescribed for morning sickness, Zofran. For Birth Defect Prevention Month, the goal is to arm mommies-to-be Read More…

Baby Dies After Contracting Legionnaires’ Disease in Hospital

Published on January 7, 2016

Ryland Joseph was a happy baby from birth. The only son of Rodd and Kellie Joseph, Ryland was the center of their universe. But a mere four months after he was born, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. His parents were told his only chance for survival was a bone Read More…

ECRI Institute’s Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2016 (Part 2)

Published on January 3, 2016

Medical malpractice is among the top three leading causes of death in the United States—just after heart disease and cancer. New technologies are released every year hoping to minimize the likelihood of life-changing injuries or death happening to patients, but often times these technologies introduce new risks. That’s why every year, the ECRI Institute releases Read More…

Study Found Medication Errors in 1 out of 2 Surgeries

Published on November 19, 2015

Researchers from the anesthesiology department of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) observed 277 random procedures for seven months there and found that half of all surgeries involved some kind of medication error or unintended drug side effects. Of these errors, more than one-third resulted in harm the patient. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine identified medical Read More…

Placenta Accreta Risks

Published on November 8, 2015

Placenta accreta is a potentially life-threatening medical condition that occurs during pregnancy. Instead of the placenta attaching just to the wall of the uterus, the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine lining and becomes firmly attached. Typically the placenta detaches from the uterine wall after childbirth, but with the placenta firmly attached, a multitude Read More…

New Technique Could Reduce Biofilm-Related Infections in Hospitals

Published on November 1, 2015

Each year, 1.7 million people in the U.S. fall victim to biofilm-related infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 100,000 of the 1.7 million infected die annually. With so many people suffering from infections with bacterial or fungal biofilms, this problem has emerged as a major public heath concern because Read More…

11-Year-Old Awarded Settlement in Birth Injury Lawsuit

Published on October 27, 2015

The London High Courts recently awarded a $2.5 million compensation package to an 11-year-old boy based on birth injury malpractice allegations. In 2004, the boy’s mother endured a difficult and prolonged labor, leaving her son’s brain to be starved of oxygen. This caused irreversible neurological damage that affected his mobility, speech and cognitive development. The Read More…

The 10 Most Common Emergency Room Errors

Published on October 19, 2015

When you visit an emergency room, you have the right to expect the same high standard of care that you would expect from any doctor or healthcare professional. You expect that the proper tests and imaging will be ordered, the proper medications administered, and the correct diagnosis made. Unfortunately, there is much discrepancy among hospital Read More…

New Device Hopes to Lessen Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

Published on September 17, 2015

Modern healthcare employs many types of invasive devices and procedures to treat patients and to help them recover. But things don’t always go as planned, and these devices and procedures can lead to infections. These healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) may include central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Infections may also occur Read More…