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For the informed consumer of health care
July 2007 Monthly Archive
California Ranks Heart Surgeons
If you need a heart bypass operation in California, you can now check your doctor's report card before going under the knife. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Developmen published a report (available at the office's website) that rates 302 surgeons who performed coronary bypass surgeries at 121 hospitals during 2003 and 2004. The average death rate was 3.08% of more than 40 thousand bypass surgeries (1 in 30) over the 2 year period. The surgeons' ratings factored in... read more
Posted by Phil Daigle on July 13, 2007 2:08 PM
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Moore's Sicko is Stupid
Moore's attack of American health care, the documentary film - Sicko, is unfair to say the least. Early in the film, Moore tells health care horror stories - a man who died because a bone-marrow transplant that might have extended his life was refused as "experimental” . A baby with a high fever died when her mother took her to the nearest emergency room where she was refused treatment, rather than taking her to a Kaiser Permanente hospital where she... read more
Posted by Phil Daigle on July 10, 2007 1:56 PM
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Health Insurance Now Mandatory in Massachusetts
As of July 1, Massachusetts citizens must have health coverage or face increasing tax penalties. Those residents earning less than the federal poverty level qualify for free coverage. Additionally, the state subsidizes coverage for those who earn up to three times the poverty level. If an individual earns more than $30,630, or a family of four earns more that $61,950, they can keep their existing coverage or choose from some lower-priced private health plans. Businesses that employ at least 11... read more
Posted by Phil Daigle on July 2, 2007 11:06 AM
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Computerized Prescriptions Cut Errors by 66%
More proof that prescriptions should be submitted by computer rather than handwritten appeared recently online in the Journal Health Services Research. In U.S. hospitals with computerized prescription systems there was a 66 percent drop in prescription errors. Illegible handwriting and transcription errors are responsible for most medication errors in hospitals. A decimal point in the wrong place can lead to a patient's dosage being 10 times the recommended amount. Filling a prescription for the pain medication Celebrex instead of antidepressant... read more
Posted by Phil Daigle on July 2, 2007 10:31 AM
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