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Substance abuse is a major healthcare issue with effects on all aspects of patient care, including trauma. A large percentage of trauma patients have a positive drug screen, and acute and chronic abuse have impacts both on the acute and long-term management of these patients. This report is the first of a two-part series and focuses on stimulants and substances with sympathomimetic properties, with particular attention to the impact on the trauma patient.
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With many COVID-19 deaths unreported in the United States, researchers estimate the actual death toll of the pandemic is closer to 1 million than the 574,043 reported from March 1, 2020, to May 3, 2021. Looking at excess mortality data, researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation calculated 905,289 COVID-19 deaths occurred in the U.S. during that period. That is 58% higher than the official numbers.
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Emergency physicians who find themselves defendants do have resources — at their hospitals, from their professional liability carriers, from mental health professionals, and from specialty organizations.
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During litigation, two important questions will arise: How did the hospital keep the patient safe? Was the hospital not doing reasonable things that other hospitals were doing?
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Due to “needle safety device failures” — some of which led to needlesticks — the FDA is recommending healthcare providers stop using certain syringes and needles manufactured by Guangdong Haiou Medical Apparatus Co., Ltd. (HAIOU). The FDA is recommending the action as it evaluates the products. So far, HAIOU has not initiated a voluntary recall.
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The problem of longstanding violence against healthcare personnel has been overshadowed by the pandemic, but it is receiving more attention from OSHA. A federal administrative law judge has determined that a Bradenton, FL, behavioral healthcare center and its management company exposed workers to more than 50 attacks in a 2.5-year period, OSHA announced.
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Preliminary results from an ongoing multisite case-control study of healthcare personnel in 25 states indicate the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are 94% effective in real-world conditions involving work and the community, the CDC reported. The study is underway at 33 sites, with 75% of enrolled healthcare workers employed at acute care hospitals.
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The CDC’s recommendation the vaccinated public can shed their masks and not socially distance in many situations was condemned by some observers who said it will cause confusion, noncompliance, and a possible spike in cases. In wanting to convey a message of progress and optimism while rewarding and encouraging vaccination, the CDC seemed to some critics to be suggesting the pandemic was over, with images of people throwing masks in the air like new graduates circulating on social media.
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If a stroke patient alleges failure to administer tissue plasminogen activator, whether a timely neurology consult was obtained likely will be a central issue in the litigation. Here are some issues that can arise during litigation.
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Houston Methodist Hospital is one of the first institutions in the nation to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers and other employees. Many see such mandates as the wave of the future, but others advise caution and patience to let staff make a willing choice about a controversial vaccine.
