Miscellaneous

• Skeptics?

  Lauren Ellerman | October 16, 2007 1:43 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Why does a physician prescribe one medication over the other? Well, recent research and legislation reflects that doctors are influenced by drug companies. How can this be? If my staff was given free lunch, I was given a new watch and or trip to Bermuda, I might remember the name of the drug or drug company that paid for those gifts, such, that I would recommend their product to my patients. I...

• Medtronic Pulls Bad Defibrillator Wires Off Market

  Dan Frith | October 16, 2007 1:26 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  American history is filled with stories of manufacturers putting profits over people! Do you remember the Ford Pinto, the Tobacco Industry, Lead Paint Manufacturers, the Dalkon Shield, etc., etc.? When it comes to drugs and medical devices the Food and Drug Administration has a pretty poor track record as well. How about the FDA approval and then subsequent concerns over Vioxx, Ambien,...

• One Reason Why Drugs Cost Too Much!

  Dan Frith | October 03, 2007 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  There are numerous reasons why prescription drugs cost so much. The exorbitant salaries of Big Pharma's top executives and the drug companies constant presence on television (commercials) are just two of the explanations. But what about kickbacks to the doctors to encourage the use of their drugs?The US Attorneys Office in Massachusetts has announced a civil settlement with Bristol Myers...

• Husband Sues Wife for Defamation

  Dan Frith | October 02, 2007 4:30 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Here is an interesting case to report. First, wife files suit for divorce against husband. Divorce proceeding is dirty with wife making outrageous and unsubstantiated claims against husband including desertion, cruelty, and assault which results in husband being taken away in handcuffs in front of the parties' children. Now the husband gets even...The husband, while the divorce case is...

• California Regulates Nursing Homes

  Lauren Ellerman | October 02, 2007 4:28 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  LA Times writer Charles Ornstein, publiushed an article today on new proposed legislation on Nursing Homes in California."The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), passed the Legislature last month and is now on the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor's press office said he has not yet taken a position on the legislation..."The purpose of the bill is to protect...

• West Virginia Supreme Court Ruling Helps Consumers

  Dan Frith | September 28, 2007 2:31 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  The "learned intermediary" doctrine has been used for decades as a defense to product liability claims - primarily used by the manufacturers of prescription drugs. The doctrine relieves a drug manufacturer from the duty to warn a patient about the dangers inherent in the use of the product. Since the drug can only be obtained via a doctor's order or prescription, the learned intermediary...

• Nutritional Records in Nursing Homes

  Lauren Ellerman | September 27, 2007 1:25 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  I don't write down what I eat every day - so why are nursing homes required to record a resident's food and water intake? If someone is in a nursing home, they are there because they need skilled care, or additional assistance with activities of daily living. In addition, if elderly, they are likely dealing with many other issues that occur with age - such as, digestion problems, swallowing...

• Visitation in Nursing Homes

  Dan Frith | September 24, 2007 3:56 PM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  We hear all the time from people that a nursing home will not allow them to go visit their mother, father, or other loved one except during specified visitation hours. This is a bunch of baloney!The federal law governing nursing home regulation is called the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987. The Act says that the resident has the right and the facility must provide for immediate access to any...

• Bed Sores, much worse than they sound

  Lauren Ellerman | September 21, 2007 11:57 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  Have you ever heard of a pressure ulcer? Bed sore? Decubitus ulcer? Fancy terms for the same thing - a wound created because excessive pressure on the skin, causes skin breakdown. These wounds occur frequently in long term care settings. Now, by stating they occur frequently, I am not implying that pressure ulcers are not preventable, or treatable. I am stating the simple, but true fact, that...

• California Medical Board Accuses Drug Detox Doctor of Medical Negligence

  Chrissie Cole | September 10, 2007 1:10 AM | 0 CommentsRoanoke, VA

  A popular Newport Beach anesthesiologist is being accused of medical and professional negligence in his "rapid detox" drug treatment.The Medical Board of California is accusing Dr. Clifford Berstein of releasing a patient who later became ill with pancreatitis and other health issues after undergoing opiate withdrawal after being under anesthesia.Bernstein is accused of filling out the patients...