Showing posts with label patient advocates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patient advocates. Show all posts

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Nursing Malpractice, Nurse Negligence, Legal Nurse Consultant Resources, Medical, Malpractice, Health Law

Legal Nurse Consultants that specialize in Nursing Malpractice Issues:

Kathy Christopherson, RN, President and CEO, Critical Consults, Inc.:"Kathy Christopherson, RN, President and CEO, has been a practicing Registered Nurse for over 26 years and a Legal Nurse Consultant for over 13 years. Her clinical experience includes critical care/intensive care, emergency department, cardiac rehabilitation and nursing education. She remains active in teaching nurses and patient care technicians in the hospital setting and participates in orientation of new staff, credentialing and is an Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support (ACLS) and Basic Life Support (CPR) instructor. As a Legal Nurse Consultant, Kathy has been both an independent consultant and an in-house consultant, working for both plaintiff and defense attorneys throughout the southeast. She has been an expert witness on nursing issues as well as a fact witness for the medical record. She provides services to assist the attorney See List of Consulting Services. Kathy also provides valuable medical library and online literature research."
Greater Atlanta Area
http://www.criticalconsults.com/

Kathy Christopherson, RN, Bryan M. Pulliam, LLC:"Ms. Christopherson has over 23 years of nursing and hospital experience. She has worked in the areas of critical care, rehabilitation and nursing education. Ms. Christopherson has been doing legal consulting for lawyers–both plaintiff and defense–for more than 10 years. Ms. Christopherson has also served as an expert witness for both plaintiff and defense lawyers. Ms. Christopherson is also a member of The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants."
http://lawpulliam.com/nurse.php

Kathy Christopherson, RN, Linked-In Profile

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Rhonda K. Alfredson RN CLNC CRRN CCM COHN, Georgia Legal Nurse Consultants:"Discovery Partners provides a multitude of comprehensive nurse consulting services to attorneys, small and large businesses, and insurance companies. Services include Legal Nurse Consulting (med. mal, PI, WC, toxic torts, fraud, soc. security, PL, criminal, gen. negligence) , Disability and Workers' Compensation Case Management, Hearing Conservation Program Consultation and Administration, Ergonomics Consultations, Occupational Health Services Consultation, Medical/Health Related Educational offerings, as well as other consultative and support services."
P.O. Box 555
Conyers, Georgia 30012
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com/dpclnc

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Nursing malpractice, Nursing, Jun 1998 by Wilkinson, Allen P:"What is nursing malpractice? Malpractice is the legal term for negligence by professionals, which generally includes nurses. In some states, however, malpractice is applied only to physicians, lawyers, and accountants; nurses could be sued for professional negligence instead. Although this seems like a fine distinction, it has practical significance because the statute of limitations (the time limit for bringing a legal action) is usually shorter for negligence than for malpractice. For our purposes, I'll use the term malpractice to cover any type of professional negligence."
FindArticles
625 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
feedback@findarticles.com
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_199806/ai_n8795015

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Nursing Malpractice CD-ROM, Second Edition, LawyersandJudges.com:"An outstanding reference for the attorney or claims adjustor investigating a nursing malpractice claim, the second edition of Nursing Malpractice brings you a wealth of information and resources to use in bringing a case to trial. Comprehensive and full of inside information, Ms. Iyer's book covers the spectrum of the nursing process--from patient admittance to lawsuit. Packed with tips and techniques for finding the missing loophole, this volume reveals typical ways in which nurses try to cover up their mistakes, and shows how nurses are caught in a difficult position between the insurance company lawyers and hospital procedures. It details your defendant nurse's daily routine, whether as a surgical nurse or nurse-supervisor in a nursing home setting, giving a comprehensive feel for all the actions which fall under a nurse's responsibility. Nursing Malpractice makes an excellent addition to your library."
Lawyers & Judges Publishing
PO Box 30040
Tucson, AZ 85751-0040
Phone 520-323-1500 Fax 520-323-0055 Email sales@lawyersandjudges.com
http://www.lawyersandjudges.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=916

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Representation If Sued, Nursing Legal Issues, Medi-smart.com:"As their professional roles expand, nurses are naturally becoming more vulnerable to the types of lawsuits that have plagued physicians for years. Malpractice is the legal term for negligence by any licensed professional. Case law began recognizing nurses as professionals in the mid-1970s, and has lately come to see registered nurses as "assertive, decisive healthcare providers," according to a 1985 New York appellate court opinion."
http://medi-smart.com/representation.htm

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Nurses, Negligence, and Malpractice: An analysis based on more than 250 cases against nurses, Nursingcenter.com:"More and more nurses are being named defendants in malpractice lawsuits, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). From 1998 to 2001, for instance, the number of malpractice payments made by nurses increased from 253 to 413 (see Figure 1 , page 55). The trend shows no signs of stopping, 1–3 despite efforts by nursing educators to inform nurses and student nurses of their legal and professional responsibilities and limitations. A charge of negligence against a nurse can arise from almost any action or failure to act that results in patient injury—most often, an unintentional failure to adhere to a standard of clinical practice—and may lead to a malpractice lawsuit."
http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=423277

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Nursing Malpractice - Online Lawyer Source:"Nursing malpractice is generally defined as negligence on behalf of a nursing professional that causes emotional or physical damage to a patient under his/her care. Any medical professional can be held accountable for medical malpractice. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the amount of nursing malpractice cases involving medication errors, documentation errors, or failure to intervene or assess, has risen in the last five years. Other cases of nursing malpractice include surgical mistakes ; negligence during child delivery ; failure to properly diagnose and treat an illness in a timely manner ; failure to note a significant change in patient condition or failure to notify the doctor of this change ; misuse of a medical device ; failure to get informed patient consent ; or any other negligence that causes injury or illness to a patient by not meeting the nursing standard of care."
http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/medical_malpractice/nursing-malpractice.html

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TAANA Position Paper on Expert Testimony in Nursing Malpractice Actions:"The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) is a voluntary, nonprofit professional organization whose members have combined the legal and nursing professions. Established in 1982, its membership is comprised of individuals who hold degrees in both nursing and the law or who have completed the requirements of one profession while actively pursuing a professional degree in the other. TAANA's mission is to provide resources, education and leadership to it members as well to both the medical and legal communities on issues relating to health law and policy. TAANA is committed to educating the public and members of the legal profession about the nature and standards of nursing."
TAANA
P.O. Box 515
Columbus, OH 43216-0515
Toll Free: 877-538-2262
Fax: (614) 221-2335
taana@taana.org
https://listserv.temple.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0607&L=net-gold&P=52480

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Nursing malpractice statistics: Wrongdiagnosis.com:"16,339 (7.9%) nurses and nursing-related practitioners had a malpractice report made against them in the US 1990-2003 (2003 Annual Report, National Practitioner Data Bank, US DHHS) 18,165 (5.3%) malpractice reports were made against nurses and nursing-related practitioners in the US 1990-2003 (2003 Annual Report, National Practitioner Data Bank, US DHHS) Nurses and nursing-related practitioners had an average of 1.11 malpractice reports made against each of them in the US 1990-2003 (2003 Annual Report, National Practitioner Data Bank, US DHHS)."
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/medical-malpractice/nursing_malpractice_statistics.htm

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Nursing Malpractice: Implications for Clinical Practice and Nursing Education Janet Pitts Beckmann, Ph.D., R.N., Galen Press:"Protect yourself by reading this book! The increasing number of nursing malpractice cases is affecting clinical practice and nursing education. After describing a typical malpractice suit, the author details sixty actual cases, each categorized by the underlying cause of the malpractice, such as medication administration and equipment use. Also provides recommendations for reducing the occurrence of malpractice and improving nursing education."
http://www.galenpress.com/00320.html

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Nursing Malpractice Sidestepping Legal Minefields Softbound, LWW.com:"This book cites court cases and settlements as a foundation to explain complicated legal and ethical issues in health care delivery. Chapters address issues surrounding each case, suggest ways that the litigation could have been avoided, and apply lessons to the larger context of daily nursing practice. Topics covered include a matter-of-fact view on medication error, documentation, breach of confidentiality, patient safety, assessment and monitoring, and patient rights. Supplemented by a special chapter on being sued and what to do, as well as featured opinions and contributions of more than two dozen nurse attorneys and risk-management and malpractice experts."
http://www.lww.com/product/?1-58255-207-X

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See also:

MedMal Consulting:'MedMal Consulting is a Physician owned and operated full-service medical malpractice evaluation and medical negligence consulting support firm. MedMal Consulting has doctors, legal nurse consultants, and medical legal litigation support personnel to assist with every aspect of your medical negligence case. Established in 1992, Dr. Herman and MedMal Consulting have over 18 years of experience in the medical legal field and have assisted in obtaining more than $147 million dollars in verdicts and settlements in medical malpractice cases."
MedMal Consulting, Inc.
P.O Box 391153
Cleveland, Ohio 44139
Phone: (216) 744-8907
Fax:(440) 248-8257
eMail: info@medmalconsulting.com
http://www.medmalconsulting.com/

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Please Choose By State:

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For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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Blogger:
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Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

StumbleUpon,
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******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Checking Your Medical Records - More Important Than Ever Before

Months ago, grand discussions of the shift from paper medical records to digital, electronic health and medical records, was all the rage.  In particular, among my Twitter colleagues, it seemed like it was all anyone wanted to talk about.

At the time, the big question was, how would doctors afford to make the shift?  Beyond just computerizing their records, they would need systems that actually share our records!  And systems that, once the meaningful use laws were determined, would allow patients to access their own records, too.

Here at the About.com Patient Empowerment site, we looked at electronic medical records - what they are, the plusses and the problems....

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For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

Facebook:
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What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Partnership for Patients - Win, Win, Win for American Healthcare

It's called the Partnership for Patients.  (I like it already - it's focused on patients.)  It's a program being developed by the federal government, under Secretary of HHS (Health and Human Services) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, along with CMS (Center for Medicare Services) Dr. Donald Berwick, a man with an impeccable patient safety advocacy record.  But they aren't in it alone - they have dozens of private and public organizations backing them, as members of the partnership.

Can this possibly be

  • A WIN for patients.
  • A WIN for providers.
  • And a WIN for payers, too?

--

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For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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Twitter!
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http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Sunday, April 3, 2011

How to Find the Best Hospital Near You - US News and World Report

Some Americans are fortunate enough to live down the street from a world-class hospital. For them, where to go for highly skilled care is clear.

For most of us, though, finding a hospital that offers both excellent care and local convenience has long been a challenge. Healthcare consumers have faced a dearth of reliable information about how the hospitals near them stack up. The problem is most acute in large metropolitan areas, which are crowded with hospitals that offer varying degrees of expertise across a range of medical specialties.

Click here to find out more!

In principle, going to a renowned medical center such as one of the nationally ranked U.S. News Best Hospitals is a solid option. But that could be difficult if it requires travel, expensive if not covered by insurance, and unnecessary except in the most challenging medical cases. No wonder most hospital patients stay close to home.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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What's New:
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Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Hospital worker had deadly blood infection

All Children's Hospital has contacted all the families whose children were exposed to an outpatient therapist who died Monday from a contagious infection that can lead to meningitis.

As they continue to notify staff who may be affected, officials want the public to know the hospital is safe, and the general public is not at risk.  However, they do want all of us to be aware of two key facts about the infection that could save lives.

Doctor Juan Dumois, The Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at All Children's, has spent the last two days answering questions about a blood infection that likely killed an outpatient therapist.  “It’s an organism that we call meningococcal. And this organism has the potential to cause very serious life threatening blood infections and sometimes, once it's in the blood it can get into the brain and that's when we call it meningitis."

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Why Not The Best (Hospital Benchmark Data)

Comparative Health Care
Performance Data

 

  • See how well U.S. hospitals perform on measures of evidence-based care, patient experience, readmission and mortality rates, and costs
  • Compare a hospital's performance with peer organizations and national benchmarks
  • Find case studies and tools to help improve the quality of care

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

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For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

AIM: Adverse event reporting is on the rise

Although the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) database has been in existence since 1969, more than half of the incidents in it were received in the past decade, according to an article published online March 28 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

These 2.2 million events represent a 1.65-fold increase from the prior decade, wrote Sheila Weiss-Smith, PhD, from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, and colleagues. "Report volume increased from 2000 to 2010 at a mean annual rate of 11.3 percent,” the authors continued.

AERS is a repository of passively reported adverse drug events designed as a safety net so the FDA can monitor all marketed drugs and detect serious safety problems. Weiss-Smith and colleagues sought to characterize the current reporting patterns.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

******************************************************
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Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Harmed in the hospital? Should you sue? - CNN.com

Ryan Jeffers finds it hard to believe his daughter, Malyia, went from being a perfectly healthy 2-year-old who loved to dance, sing and entertain to an amputee facing a lifetime of medical care.

"I can't believe something so small turned into something so big," recalls Jeffers, who noticed that his daughter had a fever one Sunday in November.

Malyia's fever continued to climb, and unusual bruises appeared on her cheek; her parents say they rushed her to the emergency room near their Sacramento home. But things did not go as they expected.

The family says that they couldn't get a physician to examine Malyia and that the five-hour wait in the emergency room nearly killed her. Her septic infection worsened as she waited to be seen.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

******************************************************
For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Quality of Death and Dying in Patients who Request Physician-Assisted Death - Journal of Palliative Medicine

Background: Physician-assisted death (PAD) was legalized in 1997 by Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ODDA). Through 2009, 460 Oregonians have died by lethal prescription under the ODDA.

Objective: To determine whether there was a difference in the quality of the dying experience, from the perspective of family members, between 52 Oregonians who received lethal prescriptions, 34 who requested but did not receive lethal prescriptions, and 63 who did not pursue PAD.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Measurements: Family members retrospectively rated the dying experience of their loved one with the 33 item Quality of Death and Dying Questionnaire (QODD).

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

******************************************************
For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Two-thirds of states cut mental healthcare funds: advocacy group | Reuters

Two-thirds of states cut mental health funding from their general fund budgets over the last two years, according to a report released by a mental illness advocacy group on Wednesday.

Kentucky with 47 percent, Alaska with 35 percent, and South Carolina and Arizona both with 23 percent made the largest percentage cuts to mental health spending in their general fund budgets, which do not include federal Medicaid funding, the study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found.

"Cutting mental health means that costs only get shifted to emergency rooms, schools, police, local courts, jails and prisons," said NAMI executive director Michael Fitzpatrick. "The taxpayer still pays the bill."

"Some states are trying to hold the line or make progress, but most are cutting deep. This stands in contrast to the intense national concern about the mental health care system following the Arizona tragedy two months ago," he said.

Click on the "via" link for the rest of the article.

******************************************************
For Health Information you can use, Follow, Connect, Like us on (Most Invites Accepted):
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http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Posterous.com
http://nursefriendly.posterous.com

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Budget Cuts Spell Crisis for Women with HIV « SpeakEasy

Rallies for workers’ rights in Wisconsin and other states have raised critical awareness about the potential implications — and targets — of budget cuts across the US. But in addition to the fate of unions and public sector employees at the local and state level — the majority of whom are women — the battle over budgets will also determine the fate of key social services, many of them on which women and children in particular depend.

Nothing makes this more real for us at the Ms. Foundation than when our grantees report how budget cuts will impact — indeed, threaten — their own programs and their own communities. For example, just a few weeks ago, the Washington Department of Health decided to cut funding for the state’s only women-specific HIV/AIDS education and support program — a program run by Seattle-based BABES Network-YWCA, our longtime grantee. This decision, BABES tells us, along with an additional funding cut at the county level, will result in a 75 percent reduction in their program budget — an untenable outcome that will leave hundreds of women without critical support services.

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Pain Medication Mistakes: Overdoses, Side Effects, and More

It's been a hard day, and Joe's back is killing him.

His wife has some Percocet left over from a trip to the dentist, and there's that big bottle of Tylenol under the sink, so Joe grabs a couple of each and washes them down with a slug of beer.

Luckily for Joe, he's a fictional character invented for this article. But there are a lot of real-life Joes out there making big mistakes with over-the-counter and prescription pain pills.

Can you spot Joe's mistakes? Joe didn't make every mistake in the book. But he made quite a few.

Here's WebMD's list of common pain pill mistakes, compiled with the help of pharmacist Kristen A. Binaso, RPh, spokeswoman for the American Pharmacists Association; and pain specialist Eric R. Haynes, MD, founder of Comprehensive Pain Management Partners in Trinity, Fla.

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Friday, March 11, 2011

Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.: Rethinking Societal Attitudes About People Who Get Cancer

In her 1978 book, "Illness as Metaphor," Susan Sontag argued that societal myths and metaphors surrounding disease can kill. How? By instilling shame and guilt in the sick. Sontag was the first writer to point out the basically accusatory tone of the metaphors we use to describe illness and its causes, as well as the essence of its cure. Examples she cited included tuberculosis, which was once popularly thought of as an illness that afflicted only individuals with delicate temperaments. Because they were supposedly constitutionally weak, these individuals were prone to wasting away. Accordingly, the "cure" for tuberculosis involved "rest" -- a prolonged stay in a sanatorium.

Sontag applied the same reasoning to debunk what she thought were myths surrounding cancer: It is not a curse or punishment, she argued. Our personality does not make us more or less likely to get cancer, and its successful treatment is not essentially a matter of our outlook. We do not get cancer because we are angry, or because we are lacking in some spiritual quality. To quote Sontag, "Theories that diseases are caused by mental states and can be cured by will power are always an index of how much is not understood about a disease." That was true for tuberculosis in the 20th century, and it is true today for cancer. Despite that truth, some cancer patients -- and in particular those who have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to other organs -- continue to experience what amounts to a societal stigma. Consider the following correspondence between me and Ellen, who has metastatic breast cancer:

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Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Texas Senate panel advances bill to protect nurses | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

A Texas Senate committee approved legislation Tuesday aimed at strengthening protection for nurses who report abuse by doctors.

The bill filed by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, protects nurses from being fired, discriminated against or punished. Nurses would be immune from criminal prosecution under the bill.

The bill now goes to the full Senate. If enacted, doctors would be fined up to $25,000 if convicted of retaliation.

Lawmakers saw a need for a more stringent law after two West Texas nurses were fired and criminally charged after reporting a doctor for allegedly practicing bad medicine.

The charges were dropped against Winkler County nurse Vicki Galle, but Anne Mitchell was prosecuted for "misuse of official information" and threatened with 10 years in prison.

Galle and Mitchell anonymously filed their complaint against Dr. Rolando Arafiles with the Texas Medical Board in 2009. But with help from the sheriff, Arafiles found out who the nurses were.

Despite Mitchell's acquittal, the case stirred outrage from medical communities nationwide. Nursing advocates want to ensure nurses can report malpractice without fear of retaliation.

"Patients are best served when nurses can advocate on their behalf," Nelson said. "The case of the Winkler County nurses highlighted the need for additional protection for nurses."

Mitchell said the decision to report Arafiles was carefully considered, and one she felt she had to make on behalf of her patients.

But the price she paid was high. She said her nursing career is over, her income has been cut in half and she continues to endure the effects of being labeled a whistleblower.

"That label basically reads 'don't hire me'," she said. "Nurses are frequently the last safety net for patients. If our voices are stifled, our patients will suffer. My hope is that the passage of this bill will prevent other nurses from having to go through what we went through."

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Choose Nursing VT :: Stories


Read stories about real Vermont nurses and their careers. The jobs these nurses have represent a small fraction of the choices available to nurses when picking a career.

Find out what inspired them to become a nurse, what kinds of responsibilities they have on the job and what they love most about being a nurse!

It's Like Going to Work in Your Pajamas
Bryan Lorber’s story
Livesaver Extraordinaire: From Firefighter to Charter Nurse
George Henry’s story
Preparing Patients for Surgery
Irene Bonin’s story
Making Health Care the Best It Can Be
Maureen’s story
Using Your Mind and Heart to Make a Difference
Jan Oliver’s story
Helping Patients Stay Heart Smart
Reg McCurdy’s story


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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

HHS Releases National Plan to Improve Health Literacy | HHS.gov

Today, the United States Department of Health and Human Services released The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy aimed at making health information and services easier to understand and use. The plan calls for improving the jargon-filled language, dense writing, and complex explanations that often fill patient handouts, medical forms, health web sites, and recommendations to the public.

According to the report, efforts to improve the health literacy skills of both the public and health professionals are needed to achieve a health literate society—a critical need as health reform generates more demand for consumer and patient information that is easy-to-understand and culturally and linguistically appropriate.

According to research from the U.S. Department of Education, only 12 percent of English-speaking adults in the United States have proficient health literacy skills. The overwhelming majority of adults have difficulty understanding and using everyday health information that comes from many sources, including the media, web sites, nutrition and medicine labels, and health professionals.

“Health literacy is needed to make health reform a reality,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Without health information that makes sense to them, people can’t access cost effective, safe, and high quality health services. But, HHS can’t do it alone,” she added. “We need payers and providers of health care services to communicate clearly and make the necessary changes to improve their communication with consumers, patients, and beneficiaries. Today’s plan is only the beginning of a long-term process with our many partners in all sectors that we hope will result in a society that encourages people to live longer, healthier lives.”

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