According to a new study, payouts are on the rise for medical malpractice lawsuits. Researchers reviewed statistics from the National Practitioner Data Bank, which tracks medical malpractice payments, to accumulate the numbers. During 1992-1996, the largest payout for a malpractice suit was nearly $290,000, and rose almost 25 percent at the highest level to over » Read More

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for Veteran’s Affairs has released a preliminary report detailing the inadequate administration of the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C. According to the report, conditions including unsanitary storage of sterile medical supplies puts patients at unnecessary risk. Although the OIG is not finished with its survey of the » Read More

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in dark, wet hospital drains sounds like the beginning of a B-movie, where an impossible to kill superbug lurks in the pipes, spreading disease that ultimately wipes out the human race. While this is far from reality, researchers have discovered that resistant superbugs can grow and thrive in hospital drains. When contaminated » Read More

Anytime a surgical procedure is performed, there are risks involved. However, some procedures are riskier than others. For example, heart surgery is much more complex and potentially life-threatening than a tonsillectomy. In addition to the inherent risk of the surgery itself, patients also run the risk of contracting a hospital acquired infection. According to the » Read More