Medical Issues (Injury & Error)

Doctor Previously Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Patients Charged With Rape

February 21, 2018 at 6:10 pm NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A New York neurologist previously convicted of sexually assaulting patients has been arrested again. Dr. Ricardo Cruciani is accused of sexually abusing six female patients under his care at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital starting in 2013. He pleaded not guilty to multiple sex abuse […]

McKinney doctor who gave patients ‘the equivalent of prescription heroin’ sentenced to 120 months in prison

Written by Profile image for Valerie Wigglesworth Valerie Wigglesworth, Staff Writer A longtime McKinney doctor who prescribed large amounts of drugs without a legitimate medical reason was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison this week. Randall William Wade prescribed more hydrocodone — a highly addictive opioid — than any other doctor in Collin County […]

Opioids for muscle and joint pain in older people may be harmful

12 February 2018 ~Risk for elderly treated with opioids for muscle and joint pain A new study has shown that opioids offer older people with muscle and joint pain little benefit, whilst significantly increasing the risk of serious negative side effects. Published in the Journal of Pain, the review focussed on the efficacy and safety of prescription […]

Opioids now kill more people than breast cancer

By Nadia Kounang, CNN Updated 12:14 AM ET, Thu December 21, 2017 (CNN) More than 63,600 lives were lost to drug overdose in 2016, the most lethal year yet of the drug overdose epidemic, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of […]

Doctor accused in deaths of 5 patients from opioid overdoses

By MARK SCOLFORO, ASSOCIATED PRESS HARRISBURG, Pa. — Dec 21, 2017, 5:37 PM ET A Pennsylvania doctor who prescribed nearly 3 million doses of opioids during a recent 19-month period has been charged with causing the overdose deaths of five people, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The U.S. attorney’s office in Harrisburg said Dr. Raymond Kraynak, 60, of Mount Carmel, […]

Surgeon admits BRANDING his initials on the livers of two patients during transplant operations

Surgeon admits BRANDING his initials on the livers of two patients during transplant operations after colleague spotted his handiwork in follow-up op on one of his victims Simon Bramhall, 53, admitted burning ‘SB’ onto a man and a woman’s livers The incidents are believed to have taken place in February and August 2013 He used […]

Older Americans Taking Too Many Unneeded Drugs: An Overlooked Epidemic

Sandra G. Boodman December 13, 2017 Consider it America’s other prescription drug epidemic. For decades, experts have warned that older Americans are taking too many unnecessary drugs, often prescribed by multiple doctors, for dubious or unknown reasons. Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people ages 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions, a figure […]

Five Deaths Tied to Intragastric Balloons, FDA Says

Megan Brooks August 10, 2017 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that it has received five reports of unanticipated deaths that occurred from 2016 to the present in patients who received a liquid-filled intragastric balloon system to treat obesity. Four reports involve the Orbera Intragastric Balloon System (Apollo Endosurgery) and one report involves the ReShape Integrated […]

Long Island doctor accused of patient overdose deaths

JULY 05, 2017 AP A Long Island doctor has been indicted on charges of illegal distribution of oxycodone causing the deaths of two patients. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say 51–year–old Dr. Michael Belfiore, of Merrick, is to be arraigned on the charges at Central Islip federal court on Friday. The two patients, 33–year–old John Ubaghs […]

NSAIDS and Acute MI: Even Short-Term Use Increases Risk

May 24, 2017 BMJ : British Medical Journal TAKE-HOME MESSAGE In this meta-analysis of individual patient data, investigators examined records from Canadian and European healthcare databases to determine if exposure to an oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) was associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Data from 446,763 individuals were included; 61,460 […]

Third Detroit-area physician convicted in $17.1 million health care fraud scheme

Detroit, MI, May 9, 2017––A third Detroit–area physician was convicted Monday for his role in a $17 million Medicare fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary physician visits. Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting US Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge […]

Breast Surgeon Found Guilty of ‘Wounding With Intent’

Zosia Chustecka April 28, 2017 UPDATED May 5, 2017 // After years of questions and complaints about surgeries that he carried out on breast cancer patients, British breast surgeon Ian Paterson has been found guilty in a criminal court of 17 counts of “wounding with intent” and three counts of “unlawful wounding.” The surgeon had […]

Popular heartburn medications linked to gradual, yet silent, kidney damage

Al Saint Jacques, MDLinx Study authors have shown that taking popular proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for heartburn for prolonged periods has been linked to serious kidney problems, including kidney failure, according to a study published in the February 22 issues of the journal Kidney International. In many cases, the sudden onset of kidney problems serves […]

Girl suffers fatal asthma attack hours after being sent away by doctor, report says

By Tess De La Mare Published February 28, 2017 A five-year-old girl died hours after being turned away from her doctor because she was a few minutes late for her appointment. Ellie-May Clark died of an asthma attack after Dr Joanne Rowe, 53, refused to see her – even though she knew the girl was […]

Dallas doctor who performed questionable surgeries gets life in prison

2/23/2017 A Dallas jury sentenced a neurosurgeon to life in prison after they heard from over a dozen patient who testified Christopher Duntsch seriously maimed them while they were under his knife. Duntsch, who practiced medicine at various hospitals in Dallas and Collin counties, was accused of crippling four patients and causing the deaths of […]

A Global Vaccine Injury Compensation System

January 23, 2017 Sam F. Halabi, JD, MPhil Vaccines are extremely safe and harm is rare. Worldwide, more than 30 000 vaccine doses are delivered per second through routine immunization programs, which, in turn, prevent an estimated 2 million to 3 million deaths annually.1 The occurrence of serious adverse events, such as those that result in […]

OTC Pain Drugs Can Complicate Polypharmacy for Older Patients

DECEMBER 2, 2016 More and more older adults are taking more and more medications, and experts warn this is translating into trouble, from drug interactions to lower adherence to higher health care costs. “Polypharmacy is a growing problem across age groups,” said Sean Jeffery, PharmD, CGP, a geriatric pharmacist at the University of Connecticut School […]

Dr. Death Plano surgeon Christopher Duntsch left a trail of bodies. The shocking story of a madman with a scalpel.

BY MATT GOODMAN PUBLISHED IN D MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2016 Lee Passmore can’t feel his feet. His right leg is as stiff as his pressed blue jeans, and when he walks, he appears to use his hips to heave it forward. He also vibrates—his chest shakes, his right hand jitters. But Passmore is one of the […]

Prenatal Acetaminophen Linked to Behavioral Problems in Kids

Megan Brooks February 24, 2014 Prenatal exposure to acetaminophen ― a drug considered safe in pregnancy ― may raise the risk for behavioral problems in children, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and hyperkinetic disorder (HKD), a severe form of ADHD, new research suggests. “Because the exposure and outcomes are frequent, these results are of public health […]

Economic Burden of U.S. Opioid Epidemic $78.5 Billion Annually

Costs includes health care, lost productivity, treatment programs WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Abuse of opioids costs the U.S. economy $78.5 billion a year, according to a study published in the October issue of Medical Care. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed the financial toll of opioid abuse, […]