Dan Frith

Back in June of this year we published a short article on the problems caused by drug-coated cardiac stents. Our article directed readers to a study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It seemed there was a higher rate of blood clot formation with the use of drug-coated stents…

Ann Richards, the former Texas governor, recently died from complications arising from esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is one of the fastest-rising forms of cancer and, unfortunately, it is rarely diagnosed early. The form of cancer which killed Ann Richards, squamous cell, is often associated with a history of heavy tobacco…

Want to know some interesting facts about the nursing home industry? How about these?– 16,995 nursing home facilities– 52 percent of these are owned by a chain, with multiple facilities owned by one company– 107 beds is the average size of a nursing home– 83 percent is the average occupancy…

A federal law (OBRA) enacted in 1987 established a survey and inspection process for nursing homes which required the facilities to meet certain standards of care. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has responsibility for enforcing these standards but delegates the inspection and survey process to the various…

Let’s assume you are in an automobile accident and you forgot to wear your seat belt and your chest struck the steering wheel at impact. Or, your seat belt was used but the abrupt front-end collision resulted in pain across your chest from the seat belt engaging. Either way, you…

Let’s say your family doctor tells you that you have torn a ligament in you knee when you fell off that ladder while painting the kitchen. Or, the chest pain which resulted in a trip to the local emergency room lead to the diagnosis of a clogged cardiac artery and…

In Virginia, nursing homes are inspected by The Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC), a division of the Virginia Department of Health. The OLC investigates complaints and allegations lodged against nursing facilities, hospitals, home care organization, hospice programs, managed care health insurance plans, outpatient surgical hospitals and clinical laboratories. All…

The Wall Street Journal (August 29, 2006) reports that doctor-owned hospitals are being developed in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and Indiana and that 130 such hospitals are already in existence. Why doctor-owned hospitals? Profit, of course! These facilities, while providing above average care, are taking the most profitable procedures and patients…