In response to increased admissions, Memorial Hospital Miramar (FL) recently opened a 10-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a 12-bed pediatric inpatient unit, while adding 40 beds for adult patients. In the past year, admissions at the 178-bed hospital climbed by 20 percent, and the number of births and emergency-room visits has increased dramatically.
The consumer group Public Citizen has sued the Food and Drug Administration, saying the agency is ignoring calls for stronger warnings that Cipro and similar antibiotics may cause serious tendon injuries. Public Citizen wants warnings for the antibiotics upgraded to the FDA's most severe type, and for patients to get pamphlets with every bottle that describe the risk.
Grady Memorial Hospital board members and business leaders are days away from striking a deal on a sweeping leadership change at the Atlanta facility. The change is a vital step in saving the financially strapped medical center, according to a lead negotiator.
The Massachusetts subsidiary of an international surgical device manufacturer is under federal investigation for allegedly paying kickbacks to doctors to use its equipment. The federal case against Blackstone Medical of Springfield got a boost yesterday when an Arkansas neurosurgeon pleaded guilty to soliciting and accepting kickbacks from a salesman who worked for Blackstone's parent company, Orthofix International.
Almost half of Chicago internists say they have prescribed a placebo to a patient during their years of practice, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. In addition, a majority of doctors in the study also said they believed in the power of placebos, which indicates that doctors do accept a mind-body relationship that can affect health.
Children with severe pneumonia can be treated just as effectively at home as in a hospital, according to a study. Researchers found that children taking antibiotics at home were as likely to survive serious pneumonia as those treated in hospitals. Under current World Health Organization guidelines, health workers refer children with severe pneumonia to hospitals to receive antibiotics. But in many poor countries, children referred to hospitals often don't receive care if their parents cannot afford it or if there is no nearby hospital.