Patient satisfaction surveys are worthless
For several years, Medicare has tied hospital reimbursement to its definition of quality of care. Poorly performing hospitals can be penalized as much as 2% of their
View ArticleSurgeon sued for talking on cell phone during an operation
A surgeon took a Spanish language proficiency test while performing varicose vein surgery on a 70-year-old woman. The doctor said he had to take the test during
View ArticleOrdering unnecessary laboratory tests continues to be a problem
Unnecessary testing wastes money and can lead to further testing. Why does it occur? Almost 60% of medical personnel surveyed at a large academic medical center believed
View ArticleGoing off the deep end about water
The latest water craze has generated a lot of discussion. The New York Times reported that some people in California [where else?] have started drinking “raw water”
View ArticleThings medical personnel should not do
Here are some tips from an experienced former provider—me. Nude Pictures… Do not take nude pictures of fellow employees. A woman unit secretary in the operating room
View ArticleThings doctors should not do—like attacking their nurses
Do not [allegedly] assault the nurses. A former nurse at a surgery center affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles is suing an ophthalmologist who, she
View ArticleCan Incident Reports Backfire?
Incident reports are frequently submitted by hospital personnel. Did you ever wonder what happens to them? I have. Over the years, I estimate that I’ve heard of
View ArticleThe Burnout Paradox: Why Are We Still Surprised?
If you go to medical school, you will be stressed—bigly. It should not come as a surprise. Two posts on the Kevin MD website highlight the problems
View Article“Officials find NYC hospitals riddled with shocking violations.”
I know it’s only the New York Post, but that headline could not be more misleading: The article says that state health inspectors found “19 instances of
View ArticleCharges dropped against surgeon accused of assaulting nurse
Last month in this space, I wrote about “Things doctors should not do—like attacking their nurses” and included this story among others: “A surgeon at a Long
View ArticleBeyond malpractice: Doctors in real trouble
What could be worse than being sued for malpractice? Prison. Kang Se-hoon, a surgeon in South Korea, operated on a popular rock singer and song writer in
View ArticleRussian woman “embalmed alive”?
No, she wasn’t, but it was just as bad. Early this month, 28-year-old Ekaterina Fedyaeva died three weeks after what was supposed to have been a
View ArticleFormer doctor arrested on fraud charges—again
One time New York orthopedic surgeon Spyros Panos, who served 3 years in federal prison for healthcare fraud, was arrested again in April for another healthcare fraud.
View ArticleSurgeon sued for talking on cell phone during an operation
A surgeon took a Spanish language proficiency test while performing varicose vein surgery on a 70-year-old woman. The doctor said he had to take the test during the procedure because no other time was...
View ArticleOrdering unnecessary laboratory tests continues to be a problem
Unnecessary testing wastes money and can lead to further testing. Why does it occur? Almost 60% of medical personnel surveyed at a large academic medical center believed that hospitalized patients...
View ArticleFormer doctor arrested on fraud charges—again
One time New York orthopedic surgeon Spyros Panos, who served 3 years in federal prison for healthcare fraud, was arrested again in April for another healthcare fraud. As I blogged in 2013, his...
View ArticleHow are hospitals doing with “Just Culture”?
Just Culture refers to a values-supportive model of shared accountability. It’s a culture that holds organizations accountable for the systems they design and for how they respond to staff behaviors...
View ArticleCan homeopathic sound waves cure Ebola?
An even better question is, “What are homeopathic sound waves?” The inventor of homeopathic sound waves, Dr. William Edwin Gray III, explains it all on his website. He created 263 different 13-second...
View ArticleMore doctors in trouble
Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Randal Haworth is accused of “playing hard-core pornography and videos showing extreme and graphic violence, such as actual beheadings, on a monitor” while performing...
View ArticleWhat is a “trauma activation” and why does it cost so much?
An 8-month-old baby fell 3 feet and hit his head on a carpeted floor in a San Francisco hotel room. He was crying and the parents, who were from South Korea, called an ambulance. By the time the child...
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