Western Pennsylvania’s attention these days may be on consent decrees and in-network access to health care, but three physicians and the head of a local physicians’ group reminded major Pittsburgh employers Thursday that there’s plenty to worry about on the national scene, too.
When I must tell a patient that she or he has cancer, that diagnosis comes with the explicit promise that I will provide timely treatment, including medicines aimed at curing cancer or extending life as long as possible. But an insidious interloper now often comes between me and my patients.
Former Boston Red Sox and White Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks has won a $5.1 million dollar settlement with Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Kirkham Wood. Jenks had a brief, yet successful MLB career, collecting a 2005 World Series ring with the White Sox. Jenks career ended in 2011 after further injury issues, which it turned out were caused by Dr. Wood's surgery.
Has your primary-care physician closed up shop? It’s happening all over the country. Walgreens announced last month that it will start operating primary-care physician services at some of its stores. They will operate differently from traditional walk-in care facilities at pharmacies where people typically go when they have an immediate health problem.
The blood sugar rises, and nausea and vomiting follow. The blood acidifies, the breath hastens, dehydration and then delirium ensue: That’s how ketoacidosis, a feared complication of diabetes, progresses. Diabetic ketoacidosis, which results in nearly 190,000 hospitalizations a year, is a condition I treat frequently as an ICU physician: We infuse intravenous insulin, saline and electrolytes, while carefully tracking sugar levels and blood chemistries and vital signs.
Nine months, 58 meetings and no resolution: Now 2,200 unionized Mercy Health workers are on strike after weekend negotiations between St. Vincent Medical Center and its employees broke down. "We don't feel valued," UAW Local 2213 president Susan Pratt said.