Valleywide Legal Blog
The Brave New World of Genomic Testing.
An organism’s genome controls its destiny. This is as true for the human genome as it is for the genome of the Covid-2 coronavirus. It was less than 20 years ago that scientists first sequenced the human genome. The project … Read More
Defective Surgical Staplers And The FDA.
The surgical stapler is an important tool. Rather than spend substantial time sewing body parts together during abdominal, thoracic or bowel surgeries, surgeons can use a stapler to close up wounds and attach body parts. Removable staples are also used … Read More
Coronavirus Fraud.
Dishonest people are always looking for a way to steal money from you, from your neighbor or from the government. If you have money, you are fair game. A crisis like the Covid pandemic provides these people with a fearful … Read More
Why Your Local Non-Profit Hospital Makes So Much Money.
We are all familiar with non-profit hospitals. They are pillars of the community. They may provide free or nearly free care to the needy or they may do free medical research for the public good. The one thing they don’t … Read More
Physician Conflicts of Interest
One of the very first of the ethical rules promulgated by the American Medical Association requires doctors to place the welfare of the patient ahead of the doctor’s own self-interest or obligations to others. As life grows ever more complicated, … Read More
Some Really Good News About Prostate Cancer
One in nine men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetimes. Most will die of something else. Fewer than 20% will develop the aggressive form of the cancer which is most likely to spread and to kill the patient. Until … Read More
Posted in Cancer, Doctors, General Health, genetic testing, health, Health Care Costs, Infection, medical research, Prostate Cancer, prostate cancer testing, science news | Nursing Homes Can Kill You – Even If You Never Set Foot In One
As the population of the United States ages, more and more of us will find ourselves or our loved ones in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. There is more and more data to suggest that these facilities are … Read More
Posted in antibiotic resistant bacteria, blood infections, General Health, health, healthy living, Hospitals, Infection, medical research, Nurses, science news, Sepsis | Technology Comes For The Humble Stethoscope.
Two hundred years ago, a Frenchman invented a tube with which he could listen to heart and lung sounds. This was the first stethoscope. Heart disease is one of the major causes of death throughout the world. Often the abnormalities … Read More
Sepsis and Diet.
Sepsis is one of the leading killers in the United States. 1.7 million Americans get sepsis each year. Fully one-third of all patients who die in hospital have sepsis. Sepsis is the body’s response to overwhelming infection. For most of … Read More
The Surgical “Black Box” Revisited.
A little over four years ago, I wrote about a Canadian surgeon who had developed a “black box” to monitor events in the operating room and warn surgeons and nurses if they were deviating from best practices. The goal was … Read More
Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, medical research, Nurses, Secrecy, Surgical Errors | 
