Valleywide Legal Blog

The Good Bacteria

Last week I wrote about some of the dangers of overuse and misuse of antibiotics: they create resistance among the disease causing bacteria and make antibiotics less effective in saving lives.  There is an equally important second reason, however.  The … Read More

Posted in antibiotic resistant bacteria, health, Health Insurers, healthy living, Obesity, obesity epidemic, science news, Type 1 Diabetes |

We Are At The Bottom. Again. Still.

USA!  USA!  We’re Number –  Eleven? The Commonwealth Fund was founded in 1918 to create better, more accessible health care systems.  Since 2004, it has been conducting studies of the health care systems of the richest eleven countries in the … Read More

Posted in drug companies, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Medical Costs, Medicare |

The Never Event.

In 2001, the concept of “never events” was introduced.  The idea was that a never event was one which was identifiable, caused serious injury or death and was almost always preventable.  The original list has grown and there are now … Read More

Posted in Birth Injuries, blood infections, disclosure of medical mistakes, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Medical Devices, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medicare, Medication Errors, never events, Nurses, Pharmacy Malpractice, Prescription Errors, retained surgical instruments, Secrecy, Surgical Errors |

The Arizona Legislature Does Not Like You.

The Arizona legislature does not like you, if you have been a victim of medical malpractice.  They have enacted several laws which apply only to victims of medical malpractice and which are intended to make it more difficult for you … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice claims, medical malpractice damages caps, medical malpractice lawsuits, Medical Negligence, plaintiff, tort reform, trial |

The Continuous Glucose Monitor and Type 2 Diabetes.

The latest marketing campaign directed at Type 2 diabetics is intended to sell them continuous glucose monitors (CGM’s).  Since there are estimated to be over 30 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes, there are a lot of potential customers. For … Read More

Posted in drug companies, General Health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Medical Devices, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes |

More Hospital Hide The Ball.

After years of fighting the proposal, hospitals in the United States were finally required to disclose their prices for the various services they provide.  The battle was long, hard and expensive.  Unsurprisingly, many hospitals and hospital chains are still in … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Medical Costs |

Tort Reform Fails to Deliver.

A recurring theme in American political life is the insistence that consumers are the victims of rapacious medical malpractice lawyers, who sue at the drop of a hat and whose actions raise health care costs for all of the rest … Read More

Posted in Defensive Medicine, Doctors, Fraud, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, Malpractice costs, Medical Costs, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice cases, medical malpractice damages caps, Medical Negligence, tort reform |

Defensive Medicine is a Fraud.

Defensive medicine is the name doctors give to the tests or treatment they admit are unnecessary but they order anyway out of what they claim is fear of being sued for malpractice.  It is an unethical fraud and the doctors … Read More

Posted in Cancer, Defensive Medicine, Doctors, Fee for Service, Fraud, health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Infection, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, Misdiagnosis, tort reform |

Hospital Pricing is Crazy and Unfair

If you want an example of why we in the United States pay more per capita for health care than anyone else but don’t get much for our money, look no further than the data being reluctantly released by hospitals … Read More

Posted in Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Medical Costs, Medicare, Secrecy |

Many Hospitals Prey On Their Patients

Last week’s New York Times ran an article about how rich hospitals profit from their patient’s car accidents.  The article showed how hospitals take advantage of old lien laws enacted to ensure patients received treatment in the days before widespread … Read More

Posted in Fee for Service, Fraud, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Insurance Law, Lawsuits, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare, plaintiff |