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A nursing home resident was thrown to the floor after her foot and leg became caught in her wheelchair. The employee pushing the woman's wheelchair had apparently disregarded warnings that the woman's foot and leg were caught and had continued pushing the chair, including giving it a hard lunge. The woman suffered severe injuries to her head and died 14 months later.
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Patient safety rounds can be an effective way to implement safety initiatives and assess ongoing efforts if the rounds are done properly, say those who have seen success with the strategy.
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A nurse at a hospital severely burned a newborn baby while giving her a bath. The parties reached a settlement shortly after the suit was filed, including periodic payments to a trust fund for the girl for 12 years.
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An elderly man underwent cataract and glaucoma surgery in his left eye, after which he claimed his vision deteriorated. He sued the ophthalmologist.
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With increasing frequency, health care providers confront the prospect of being involved in litigation or investigations by a regulatory body.
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The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina shows that health care providers risk criminal prosecution after making difficult decisions, says Lester Johnson, JD, an attorney with the law firm of McGlinchey Stafford in New Orleans.
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A New Orleans grand jury's refusal to indict Anna Pou, MD, on murder charges stemming from several patients' deaths in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina shows that the jurors understood ...
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Nearly everyone carries a cell phone these days, and a large proportion of those phones include cameras that can be used to take photos quickly and quietly.
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U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says a loophole in medical privacy law is allowing pharmacies to "auction off" customer records, including prescriptions, information about medical conditions, Social Security numbers, and insurance records "to the highest bidder."
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To coincide with the fourth anniversary of enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a new web site to provide information about how it enforces health information privacy rights and standards compliance.