http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed Friday against SSM Health Care-St. Louis and a neurosurgeon for allegedly operating on the wrong side of a woman's skull and brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-lawsuit-surgeon-allegedly-wrong-side.html Other Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:20:02 EST news286548760 In reviewing 25 years of U.S. malpractice claim payouts, Johns Hopkins researchers found that diagnostic errors—not surgical mistakes or medication overdoses—accounted for the largest fraction of claims, the most severe patient harm, and the highest total of penalty payouts. Diagnosis-related payments amounted to $38.8 billion between 1986 and 2010, they found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-diagnostic-errors-common-costly-treatment.html Health Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:24:27 EST news285877459 France launched one of its biggest-ever trials on Wednesday as five managers from company PIP faced charges of selling faulty breast implants that sparked a global health scare. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-french-trial-faulty-breast-implants.html Other Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:11:54 EST news285397907 (HealthDay)—The most common reason for medical malpractice suits against radiologists in the United States is diagnostic errors, particularly breast cancer and non-vertebral and spinal fractures, according to research published in the February issue of Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-breast-ca-diagnostic-errors-major.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:00:04 EST news279282729 The average physician can expect to spend nearly 11 per cent of his or her career with a malpractice claim waiting to be resolved. Some specialists will spend nearly a third of their careers with open claims. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-looming-malpractice-resolution-ten-cent.html Health Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:00:10 EST news276772415 After a cautious and rigorous analysis of national malpractice claims, Johns Hopkins patient safety researchers estimate that a surgeon in the United States leaves a foreign object such as a sponge or a towel inside a patient's body after an operation 39 times a week, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week and operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-malpractice-surgical-events-year.html Surgery Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:08:13 EST news275141280 The University of Michigan Health System doesn't claim to be perfect. But its response to medical errors, near-misses, unexpected clinical problems and unintended outcomes is a model for the nation that other hospitals can and should copy, according to a new paper in a prestigious health care journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-wrong.html Health Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:40:03 EST news274721385 (HealthDay)—Although use of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) is prohibited among athletes because it reportedly enhances performance, there is no scientific evidence that it does so, according to a study published online Dec. 6 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-evidence-doping-athletic.html Medications Mon, 10 Dec 2012 03:44:31 EST news274333445 (HealthDay News) -- Malpractice claims dipped dramatically among Massachusetts physicians after they began using electronic medical records, according to new research, although it's not clear whether the record-keeping was connected to the decline in claims. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-e-records-linked-malpractice.html Health Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:30:01 EST news259899434 Radiologists classify themselves as less competent than other physicians regarding knowledge of patient imaging costs and patient safety, a new study shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-radiologists-health-policy-issues.html Other Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:50:01 EST news254971196 (HealthDay) -- Defense costs for medical malpractice claims vary among specialties and are higher for claims that result in indemnity payments, according to a letter published in the April 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-medical-malpractice-incur-substantial-defense.html Health Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:50:22 EST news252834605 Contrary to the common perception among physicians that poor people sue doctors more frequently, Ramon L. Jimenez from the Monterey Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Institute and his team demonstrate that socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, in fact, tend to sue physicians less often. Their work suggests that this myth may exist because of subconscious prejudices or stereotypes that affect thinking and decision making without doctors being aware of it - a phenomenon known as unconscious bias. Dr. Jimenez and his colleagues' work is published online in Springer's journal, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-poor-fact-sue-doctor.html Health Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:26:41 EST news249560791 Because clinical evaluation often depends on diagnostic tests, diagnostic physicians have a responsibility to notify referring clinicians when test results reveal urgent or unexpected findings. According to an article selected as the "CME Activity of the Month" in the most recent edition of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), the rapid growth of diagnostic testing appears to be placing physicians at greater risk for medical malpractice claims for test communication failures. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-diagnostic-physicians-medical-malpractice-due.html Other Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:41:06 EST news239388057 The debates over health care reform may soon become more informed. A new study undertaken by a group of researchers, including Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Professor Amitabh Chandra, provides a detailed snapshot of U.S. medical malpractice claims, awards, and frequency by specialty. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-true-medical-malpractice.html Other Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:26:42 EST news233317586 It is well known that rising medical malpractice premiums have reached a crisis point in many areas of the United States, and the economic and emotional costs of these claims are driving physicians and surgeons away from high-risk specialties. However, according to the authors of a study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, implementation of comprehensive tort reform has been associated with a nearly 80 percent decrease in the prevalence of surgical malpractice lawsuits at one academic medical center. This decrease in lawsuits also resulted in a significant decrease in malpractice-associated costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-tort-reform-lawsuit-framework-quality.html Other Mon, 23 May 2011 11:50:01 EST news225369452