From the monthly archives:

August 2005

August 31, 2005

Turmoil in the FDA: A high-ranking official quits after the Plan B delay“I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled . . . The recent decision announced by the Commissioner about emergency contraception, which continues to limit [...]

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August 31, 2005

More doctors gone wild: A surgeon in Japan punched a patient in her 90’s during surgery
“A doctor described as arrogant was suspended for three months for punching a patient in her 90s and hurling verbal abuse at her in the middle of surgery, officials said Tuesday.
The incident took place at Shiga Hospital in Higashiomi, Shiga [...]

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August 31, 2005

Anger management: A doctor in Canada is disciplined for swearing at patients
“None of the complainants can be identified, but the daughter of one patient testified that, when she drove almost 20 kilometres to his office to pick up a prescription for her elderly father, Dr. Rathé came out of his office and said to her, [...]

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August 31, 2005

Again, rising malpractice costs are hurting patients
“Just past Fredericksburg, Virginia’s Northern Neck is increasingly becoming known among Washingtonians for its waterfront real estate, tiny fishing villages and a quiet, isolated rhythm that makes you feel like you’re a million miles away.
But if you’re a pregnant woman about to go into labor, isolation isn’t necessarily a [...]

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The hospital scene in New Orleans

August 30, 2005

Washington Post: New Orleans Hospital Still Offers Care“The hospital is crowded and hot. Surgeries go on with the help of generators. A teen arrives by boat after giving birth in a hotel. And outside, a steady stream of homeless, frightened people seek refuge.
This was the scene Tuesday at New Orleans’ Ochsner Clinic, the eye of [...]

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Crossing the line? The NH Board goes public on Dr. Bennett

August 30, 2005

The Union Leader: Board sets hearing for Dr. Bennett
“One complaint charges he spoke to an obese female patient about her condition in a way that caused her distress and embarrassment. The other complaint, which was filed in 2001, said Bennett advised another female patient to buy a pistol so she could commit suicide to end [...]

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August 30, 2005

Richard Epstein takes on Mark Lanier about the Vioxx verdict on CNBC
“You’re a bully, Mr. Lanier, and you’re not going to get away with it now.” (via PointofLaw.com)

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August 30, 2005

A juror talks about being on a medical malpractice caseThis blog does not tend to give jurors on malpractice cases very much credit. Here’s one who sounds pretty reasonable – and I’m not just saying this because they found in favor of the physician:
Obvious attempts to play on our sympathies (chemotherapy side effects listed repeatedly; [...]

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August 30, 2005

Grand rounds 49 is up
Come get the weekly best of the medical blogosphere.

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August 30, 2005

A doctor in Vietnam builds an endoscope himself using cheap parts and a home computer

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August 30, 2005

HIPAA, water-cooler talk, and the whole patient
“Studies show that multidisciplinary rounds improve every facet of patient care, from length of hospital stay to infectious complications and even mortality. But it still means that medical privacy is becoming a very relative concept. No longer can you offer up your gallbladder to the system, and keep the [...]

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August 29, 2005

The health problems left behind by hurricane Katrina

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August 29, 2005

Inside a fake Viagra factory
“It may look like any building site, but it is the squalid factory where counterfeit Viagra is produced. The fake pills are stored on dirty plastic sheeting, while the cement mixer is used to dye them blue.
Most people who buy drugs over the internet will be unaware that they could easily [...]

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August 29, 2005

A roundabout diagnosis of C Difficile
It seems like it took a lot of work to come to a simple C Difficile diagnosis in a 15-year old girl: “She and her family are angry at doctors they allege did not think she was ill, removed her appendix because they wrongly believed she had appendicitis and accused [...]

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August 29, 2005

Capitol murder charges for late-term abortions?
“Texas doctors who perform abortions without parental approval or after the third trimester could face capital murder charges because of a new law that takes effect this week, a prosecutors group says.”

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August 29, 2005

A drug store dispensed Diazepam (Valium) instead of Ditropan to a 5-year old girl
“Kayla had two doses of liquid Valium.
‘She got very hyper, she kept laughing and laughing,’ Ferranti said.
After another dose, Kayla started to complain that she felt dizzy and her stomach hurt.
‘I couldn’t stop being silly,’ she said.
CVS attributed the confusion to the [...]

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