Women suffer significant, sustained damage from head traumas inflicted on them during domestic abuse, and victims themselves, doctors, law enforcement, and too many others have underestimated the severity of this problem. Here is the harsh reality of too many women’s terrifying experiences, as reported in a tough-to-read but important New York Times magazine article that….
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Pandemic worsened already shameful U.S. maternal mortality problems
The United States, the wealthiest nation in the world, has a really bad record on maternal mortality. And it only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. The National Center for Health Statistics found that 861 women died during pregnancy or shortly thereafter in 2020 versus the 754 comparable deaths in 2019, the New York Times reported,….
Continue ReadingRacial bias: Another reason for patients to get and correct their own medical records
Patients, for their own protection, long have needed to secure copies of their medical records and correct inaccuracies they find — a safeguard that has grown even more vital as research builds about unacceptable biases that doctors and others may show in their recorded observations about those in their care. In two separate, published dives….
Continue ReadingLet’s hear it for the right to be healthy, careful, safe, and follow science
Let’s flip the script on those who have rejected their role in quelling the pandemic and demanded their right to control their own bodies. It’s time to recapture common sense. Those who have advocated for increasingly unmoored and unfounded responses to the pandemic can’t stigmatize, criticize, mock, or abuse (physically or verbally) those who want….
Continue ReadingExperts still tussle with proper prescribing of opioid painkillers
As the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis rages, experts — after decades now of experience with powerful painkillers — continue to struggle with their proper handling and prescribing. The federal Centers for Disease Control, on the one hand, has softened its earlier tough guidelines on the medications, while a top government commission assailed the….
Continue ReadingUCLA pays $243 million more for gynecologist’s sexual wrongdoing
The City of Angels has become an epicenter of big settlements paid to women harmed by doctors in university health care systems. The University of California at Los Angeles disclosed that it will pay $243 million to 203 patients who asserted they were sexually mistreated by James Heaps, a gynecologist who was affiliated with the….
Continue ReadingUniversity of Michigan settles 1,000+ sex abuse claims against dead doctor for $490 million
Michigan’s top academic institutions now share a dubious distinction, with the University of Michigan joining Michigan State University in agreeing to pay out whopping settlements totaling almost $1 billion for big numbers of claims of sexual abuse by doctors working with the schools’ athletic programs. UM has just agreed to pay $490 million to more….
Continue ReadingGood news in ’22: Patients mostly see end to ‘surprise’ medical bills
Here’s a bit of good news that may make patients jump for joy to start off 2022: Surprise medical bills mostly are supposed to end, effective Jan. 1. Consumers still must watch out for potential big hits on their emergency transportation costs and they will need to ensure scheduled services with medical providers occur “in….
Continue ReadingWomen MDs face lifetime pay gap of $2 million less than male colleagues, and patient care suffers as a result
They excel through four years of rigorous undergraduate study, then battle their way through four more years of tough, tough medical school. They cram to pass their medical boards and grind through exhausting internships. They also pursue years more of exacting, sleep-deprived training in residencies and fellowships. But, wait a minute: Women doctors earn over….
Continue ReadingU.S. invests $1.5 billion to boost health staffing in underserved areas
For anyone who believes that health care, in the wealthiest nation in the world, is a right and not a privilege, the Biden Administration provided some cause for optimism. It came in the form of an announcement by Vice President Kamala Harris that the nation will invest $1.5 billion to help reduce the shortage of….
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