Lauren Ellerman

Our local paper, the Roanoke Times, ran a good article from the AP this morning:http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DIAGNOSING_STROKES?SITE=VAROA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT. The Article states that new studies reveal that MRIs provide superior diagnosing images over CT scans for physicians when seeking evidence of a stroke. The study said with MRIs, the physicians diagnosed the stroke correctely…

On our firm website – https://frithlawfirm.com/, we speak about a bacterial outbreak in an assisted living facility that lead to the death of at least two residents…. but can you imagine, two babies have died because staff did not properly sterilize instruments.http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/16533941.htm. What a tragedy – and one that could…

Did you know your local hospital can charge you $10 for a Tylenol? We have often discussed on this blog, some of the inconsistencies in hospital rates. For example, if you have Blue Cross insurance, they may have a contract with the hospital that says they will only pay $7…

Well, for once I mean this. Thank God I don’t live in California. The LA Times published an article today, that reflects insurance companies are refusing to insure some professions. Professional athletes, firefighters, roofers, etc…http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-reject8jan08,0,5668276.story?coll=la-home-headlinesAre you kidding? Is there not a public policy in making sure our firefighters and law…

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/health/02brody.html?_r=2&ref=health&oref=slogin&oref=slogin A great article in the New York times – with some super advice (much of which we have given on our blog in the past). The issue – MEDICATION ERRORS and how 1.5 million a year are made causing injury and death. Well, if your health care providers are…

“For most Americans, the biggest health threat is not avian flu, West Nile or mad cow disease. It’s our health-care system.” That is a bold statement made by three physicians in today’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/health/02essa.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin. And what do they mean? The article analyzes a change in our healthcare system…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122600592.htmlA study out of England reveals that those who take certain heart burn medications, may have an increased risk for hip fractures… The reason, acid in the stomach allows calcium to reach the bones. No acid, calcium doesn’t do its job.I wonder though – what does one little study mean?…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121501514.html?nav=hcmodule My friends at the Washington Post published an article this week about an antibiotic used to treat pneumonia. The side effects are so severe however, that the FDA has voted against the drug’s use for less threatening illnesses, such as bronchitis. Well – this raises an interesting point (and…

http://www.suntimes.com/business/knowles/167526,CST-FIN-health11.article Chicago Sun Times reported yesterday, that Illinois families are paying more for healthcare, and getting less. The USA Families group compared the increase in health care costs, to increase incomes – and found that health care cost were increasing at a % rate, much higher than incomes were increasing…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/29/AR2006112900128.htmlMy friends at the Washington Post recently published an article on how Medicare costs were below projected rates this year. Really? As the baby-boomers age – as life expectancy in the United States increases annually – as elderly pinch pennies in order to have enough to pay for food, health…