In Pennsylvania and across the United States, a condition known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, closely mimics Alzheimer's disease and other types of conditions, including Parkinson's disease. However, unlike Alzheimer's disease, NPH is a treatable...
Medical Malpractice
Lowering the likelihood of errors in radiology
Radiologists in Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, often suffer from long shifts and an excessive workload. When radiologists read an image, a cognitive bias may lead them to only look for those things they were trained to look for. All of these can contribute to missed...
Nurses are vulnerable to making mistakes
Nurses in Pennsylvania and throughout the country take pride in doing their job without making mistakes. However, they will eventually make an error, and that error could have negative consequences for a patient. Each year, 1.5 million Americans are harmed by...
Reducing wrong-site surgery errors
Most surgeries in Pennsylvania go as planned. However, there are about 40-60 wrong-site surgeries (WSS) that occur every week in the United States. This is why annual events like National Time Out Day are held to provide an added incentive for surgical teams to remain...
Surgical errors linked to stress
Pennsylvania residents often feel a great deal of stress when they go to the hospital for surgery, but their doctor's stress levels may have a significant effect on the outcome of their procedures. According to a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University,...
Adverse drug events, and their impact on patients
Pennsylvania residents who take prescribed medications are most likely aware of the danger of adverse drug events. ADEs refer to any medication-related injuries, such as those relating to allergic reactions, overdoses or prescriptions. They are behind 100,000...
More and more young people are suffering strokes in the U.S.
An average of 795,000 people in the U.S. suffer from strokes every year, and of those, 10 percent are 45 years and younger. The American Heart Association has found that stroke rates among young patients, which rose between 1995 and 1999, have risen even more...
Optic neuritis commonly misdiagnosed, says study
A medical condition called optic neuritis is misdiagnosed at high rates, according to the results of a study of patients referred for treatment from 2014 to 2016. Pennsylvania residents who suffer from medical conditions should be aware of the risks associated with...
New testing may be necessary for kids with brain tumors
The finding of a brain tumor is frightening for any Pennsylvania patient, but it's particularly difficult if the patient is a child. A parent is placed in the very difficult position of making medical decisions for their son or daughter. The conventional wisdom...
Avoiding pharmacy medication errors
A study published by the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology found that pharmacy dispensing errors account for roughly 21 percent of all medication errors affecting patients. Medication errors might be more common than Pennsylvania residents might expect, but there are a...
