Physicians who show signs of depression – regardless of their experience or lack of - are more likely to make mistakes during medical treatment.
That’s the conclusion of a new study that reviewed the findings of previous research efforts into depressed doctors. The study (“Association Between Physician Depressive Symptoms and Medical Errors - A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”) was published online late last year by JAMA Network Open, a medical journal from the American Medical Association.
This latest research encompassed 11 previous studies of physician ...
A time posing a great risk for fatal drunk-driving crashes – New Year’s Eve – has passed. While the number of drunk-driving accidents that occurred that night has yet been reported, we do have new data that shows alcohol-impaired drivers remain a year-round serious threat.
Last month the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration issued a report on drunk driving for 2018, the most recent year for finalized data. “Alcohol-Impaired Driving,” paints a vivid picture on the dire consequences of this careless driving behavior.
As reported by the federal ...
We are aware of the dangers of distracted driving. But there’s now evidence that distracted medical care – caregivers providing treatment while using their cell phones – is harming young patients.
Medication mistakes are a serious and common type of medical error. They are highly preventable. A new study shows how cell phone use among nurses can lead to errors while administering drugs to pediatric patients.
The study (“Association Between Mobile Telephone Interruptions and Medication Administration Errors in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit”) was published online in ...
We have become a country of phone-addicted people. And nowhere is this more true – and more dangerous – than on our nation’s roads. Some estimates place the amount of people driving while on their cell phones as high as 80 percent.
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which is when Zendrive released its 2019 research (“Public Enemy No. 1”) on distracted driving. This is the third consecutive year that the data tech and mobile app company has studied distracted drivers, and it reports that distracted driving continues to worsen year after year.
The study coins ...
Twenty years ago, a landmark report (“To Err is Human”) found that as many 98,000 people die from medical errors in this country every year. And just three years ago, another study said that only heart disease and cancer caused more deaths in the United States than preventable medical mistakes.
According to that more recent Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study (“Medical Error—the Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S.”), more than 250,000 people die annually from medical errors.
What is a Medical Error?
That study defines a medical error to include:
· A mistake ...
It’s one step forward and likely one step back in terms of preventing catastrophic truck crashes in this country.
On December 17, the electronic logging device mandate goes into full effect. On that day, all appropriate commercial truckers must record their hours of service – time spent on the road – in computerized devices.
How does this help prevent fatal commercial truck accidents? Electronic logging devices should do a better job keeping dangerously tired truck drivers off the road than the previous process.
Truckers Avoiding Driving Hours Regulations
Prior to the ELD ...
Misdiagnosis is a common but serious medical mistake. According to new research, misreading of CT scans – one variety of patient misdiagnosis - is a leading cause of medical errors that harm patients.
The Doctors Company, a medical malpractice insurance provider, in early December released the findings of its study into radiology medical malpractice claims (“Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Closed Claims Study”). It reviewed nearly 600 medical malpractice lawsuits against radiologists that closed between 2013 and 2018.
The study examined medical malpractice ...
Apparently there are a growing number of commercial truck drivers speeding, and many today barreling down the highway with bad brakes.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the number of speeding truckers is on a distinctly upward trend. Speeding tickets (federal and state) given to commercial truck drivers in the United States jumped 7.8% in 2018 over 2017. And 2017 saw a 1.1% increase in truck driver speeding violations over the year prior, with 2016 nearly a 10% hike compared to 2015.
Rise in Speeding Tickets Given to Commercial Truck Drivers
All totaled ...
Missouri hospitals rank in the bottom half of all U.S. states for patient safety, with far less than one-third of the facilities achieving the highest grade in this regard.
The fall rankings for U.S. hospitals were recently published by the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that highlights dangerous medical errors. It issues twice-yearly hospital safety grades, with “A” being the best grade and “F” a failing grade.
Per the newly released rankings, Missouri is number 29, with just under 28% of the Show Me State’s hospitals earning an “A” grade. (Maine came in at ...
Walkers, bike riders and those in crashes with commercial trucks all had something tragic in common in 2018: more of them died in traffic accidents than the year prior.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released its report on fatal motor vehicle accidents in 2018. While there was some good news – an overall drop in traffic fatalities of 2.4% over 2017 – it has to be put into some perspective. The NHTSA reports that even with that drop 36,560 people died in car crashes and commercial truck accidents in 2018.
According to the NHTSA, bicyclist deaths increased ...
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