Valleywide Legal Blog

Generic Drug Price Fixing.

“Generic” is the name given to drugs that are not protected by patents.  Anyone can make a generic drug.  Because they are not protected by patents, it is anticipated that competition will drive down the prices of generic drugs to … Read More

Posted in drug companies, Fraud, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Lawsuits, Medical Costs, Medicare, Secrecy |

Hospital Consolidation Is Driving Up Health Care Costs.

Last week I wrote about hospitals not knowing exactly what their costs were for various procedures.  Without that information, they cannot make informed decisions about pricing.  Without informed decisions about pricing, there can be no price competition.  There also can … Read More

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

The Hospital You Choose Makes a Difference.

Just a few days ago I wrote a post about hospital malpractice.  Today comes news of a viral outbreak at a New Jersey pediatric center that has already killed six children and sickened many more.  The facility is not a … Read More

Posted in Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Infection, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, Medicare |

I’ll Take Lobbying for $2 Billion, Alex.

The answer is, “They spent $2.3 billion on lobbying over the last 20 years.”  If you answered, “What is the pharmaceutical lobby?,” you won.  Actually, you didn’t win.  You lost because all that drug money flowing into Washington did exactly … Read More

Posted in drug companies, General Health, Health Care Costs, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare |

Finding the Right Hospital

Hospitals vary greatly in terms of the quality of their care.  In some hospitals infection rates are low and few patients need to be readmitted after discharge.  Exactly the opposite is true for some other hospitals.  You do not want … Read More

Posted in General Health, health, Hospitals, Medicare, Medication Errors, never events, Nurses, Secrecy |

Some Thoughts Before Surgery.

Surgery is scary.  Lots of things can go wrong.  No one can guarantee a good surgical outcome.  Even the best surgeon operating in the best hospital may end up with a bad outcome.  If your surgery is of the emergency … Read More

Posted in Arizona Medical Board, Doctors, Hospitals, Infection, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medicare, Surgical Errors |

Insulin Makers Should Be Ashamed of Themselves

If you have been following our blog, you know that my 8 year old grandson is a Type 1 diabetic and has been for 5 years now.  Unlike Type 2 diabetes, no amount of weight loss or diet or lifestyle … Read More

Posted in drug companies, health, Health Care Costs, healthy living, Medical Costs, Medicare, Type 1 Diabetes |

Pay More, Get Less

The United States spends more per person on health care than any other developed country.  At the same time, our life expectancy is less than that in other developed countries.  What is going on? Let’s start with the cost of … Read More

Posted in drug companies, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, healthy living, Hospitals, Medicare, Obesity, obesity epidemic |

Doctors On The Take?

You don’t need me to tell you we have an opioid crisis in this country.  Men and women of all ages, income levels and education levels are dying from overdoses.  Not only are there illegal opiates, such as heroin, entering … Read More

Posted in Doctors, drug companies, Fraud, Health Care Costs, medical ethics, Medicare, Medication Errors, Pharmacies, Secrecy |

Never Events Just Keep On Happening.

The term “Never Event” was created in the early 2000’s to denote an event that should never occur in the presence of good medical care.  It is now used to describe events which are clear, which cause serious injury or … Read More

Posted in Arizona Medical Board, disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Medical Costs, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, Medicare, never events, Nurses, Prescription Errors, retained surgical instruments, Secrecy, Surgical Errors |