With all the tests used to determine breast cancer, sometimes multiple exams may produce different results. For example, while genetic DNA testing may reveal a low risk for cancer, traditional tests results for the same patient may be the exact opposite. There...
Dedicated To Protecting What Matters Most
Month: August 2016
Learning more about rare diseases in Oregon
In the United States, a rare disease is any disease that impacts 200,000 or fewer people. Currently, there are anywhere from 25 million to 30 million Americans who have a rare disease. This means that as many as 1 in 10 people are afflicted with one of these...
Medical errors still exist despite increasing patient safety
Unfortunately, medical errors still occur in Oregon even though most doctors strive to provide top-notch care. A study from John's Hopkins University analyzed data from approximately 35 million hospital admissions to determine why there are about 200,000 deaths...
Why EDS is tough to diagnose in Oregon
What may seem to be tendinitis of the knee or bursitis of the shoulder in some patients may actually be a condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This disorder can also cause some patients to experience chronic fatigue or nausea in combination with sore joints...
Surgeon may have removed kidney from wrong patient
Oregon residents may have heard about 'never events" that occur at hospitals on relatively rare occasions. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines a never event as a medical error that should never happen and shows that a health care facility has...
Total joint replacements and medical malpractice
Many people undergo knee, shoulder or hip replacements at Oregon medical facilities. While they might be concerned about whether or not the replacement joint will work, they often do not expect the surgery itself to cause them harm. If you have had a total...
Using electronic patient records to reduce medical errors
Oregon residents should be concerned that communication between health care professionals regarding a patient's condition can significantly affect the chances of recovery. When one doctor's shift has ended and another doctor is responsible for a patient's care,...
The long-term impact of TIAs
Oregon residents may be interested to learn that research from the University of Birmingham disputes the notion that TIAs, or mini-strokes, and their aftereffects are temporary in nature. The study also asserts that clinical guidelines should be revised to...
Debilitating bladder condition rarely diagnosed
While few Oregon residents may have heard of interstitial cystitis, millions of Americans suffer from the painful and sometimes debilitating bladder condition. Physicians too are often in the dark about the inflammatory condition that is also known as painful...