Technology can really help in reducing medication errors.  That’s the thought at least.  It will track the drugs as they travel through the hospital and reduce transcription errors relating to the written scripts. Well…..according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, technology doesn’t always solve the problem.  25% of inpatient stays at one VA hospital had an adverse drug event even with high-tech help.

Read the article here:  Marketwatch.com

The primary basis for malpractice claims relating to melanoma is the failure to recognize the skin cancer or the failure to act when signs are there.  This is so important because melanoma is one cancer that if caught early enough is readily treatable and curable.

The medical profession is developing a scoring system that should be helpful in determining risk levels for people.  It takes into consideration the lightness of your skin, color of your hair, number of severe sunburns over your lifetime, family history and more. 

You can read about the study and the article here:  Reuters Health

Just a link to a Reuters article.  The article states that a study in France looking at improving breast cancer survivability was halted after 2 deaths.

Source:  Reuters at Yahoo

Excellent article yesterday (May 9, 2005) in the Wall Street Journal that talks about the need for quick accurate care in an emergency room when a person has a stroke. 

Currently, Trauma centers exist regionally and EMTs and Paramedics know to use them for severely injured people.  This gives that person the best chance of surviving their injuries.  The Journal article is making the point that the same holds true for stroke victims. They should be taken to hospitals able to handle complex stroke injuries.  Stroke victims need quick accurate care in order to have the best chance for surviving.  Unfortunately this does not always happen.

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