Lauren Ellerman

There is a wonderful essay in today’s New York Times, about the balance between a patient’s request, and doctor’s policy. What if the two are in conflict – who wins?http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/health/03essa.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1175629105-k+zaPwO4G3Y1M1sUNwOAWgWe see it often in Nursing Homes. Families will request a test, or treatment, the physician says is not necessary. On…

Planning on a visit to the Nursing Home this EASTER or PASSOVER? Taking your grandparent out on Mother’s Day in May or Father’s Day in June? This is a great opportunity to pay attention to their progress / health concerns or needs. How are they feeling? Getting better, or worse?…

Everyone is talking about – national and local news, radio, tv…. The American Cancer Society has published new guidelines that require a select group of women, to get mammorgrams and MRIs for early breast cancer detection. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/27/AR2007032702326.html.What women should fall into this select group? Women at high risk because of…

NEW FLASH TODAY –SAN FRANCISCO- Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center has received the state’s most severe citation and fine after the California Department of Health Services determined that the poor care of an 82-year-old resident led to her death.State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton announced Monday that the…

Have you seen you tube? Are you worried you will end up on it someday? Well here is a new one, you may end up on your physician’s blog. YES, you read it right, many physicians acrosss the country have started blogging about patients, situations, etc. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602097.html What kind of…

A new report out on Alzheimer’s Disease, estimates that at least 5 million Americans are living with the disease. Well, if that calculation is correct – then there are likely 20 million Americans battling Alzheimer’s disease. What do I mean? Well for each patient, there is a family, a group…

We have heard about class action litigation in a variety of areas – from big tobacco, to breast implants and telephone lines – as long as a certain number of people have the same or similar complaint or injury, and the damages are a certain amount – you can seek…

A record breaking $217 million dollar lawsuit last year against a group of Emergency Room Physicians for failing to diagnose a stroke. Over $100,000,000 of that was punitive, meaning, the jury meant to punish the physicians for their negligence. Imagine being the physician – and learning (or knowing) that the…

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/01/State/Last_insurance__fix__.shtmlWow – Now I understand the concern that lawsuits cause increase insurance premiums for physicians. I believe the real reason insurance rates increase are because insurance companies want to keep their profit margins high, but that is irrelevant to a new trend in Florida. Doctors ask their patients to sign…

The New York Times published an article today on the increasing popularity of programs where non health care providers are hired to provide care for declining loved ones. Sure, I could have helped my grandmother turn over in bed, take her medications, and made her meals and kept her company…