Lauren Ellerman

I didn’t make that up. Read this article from The Boston Globe–The State of New York recently performed an in house audit of State Medicaid payments – who received them, why, etc. The audit found the agency had paid MILLIONS for services, to those who had already been deceased. How…

Hey – check this article out:http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-11-14T222155Z_01_N14293203_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-INFECTIONS.XML“WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) – More than 19,000 patients came down with an infection in 2005 in Pennsylvania hospitals, the state reported on Tuesday as it became the first in the United States to divulge infection data for individual hospitals.”The article continues – stating“Consumer advocates…

4 weeks ago – DON’T EAT THE SPINACH appearred on grocery shelves across the country. Then there was a rumor about E Coli in lettuce as well. This week – pain killers are the subject of scrutiny. A manufacturer of generic acetaminophen recalled 11 million bottles of the pain-relieving pills…

I voted today, did you? Today’s elections have caused a stir across the nation – and have you ever wondered why most people vote the way they do?This week – the Kaiser Family Foundation published a very interesting and timely article on TODAY’S ELECTION, and HEALTH CARE ISSUES. Link to…

I often read the Washington Post’s website – and came across this article, or discussion rather, on end of life issues: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/10/06/DI2006100601119.htmlIt is not an easy discussion, that is for sure – but it is even more difficult when your loved one is ill and perhaps facing terminal illness, etc.Our…

I received an email today – with the following link: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/15805694.htm. The State of Texas is suing a nursing home for failing to care for the patients. Well I think that is a great idea – and here is why. Often times you hear people allege that the only people…

Here in Roanoke – we have an interesting local issue regarding Health Care. The largest local hospital has announced a long range plan to associate most local doctors – what this means is the doctors will become employees of the hospital (or a subsidiary corporation) and they will no longer…

Check out USA Today – today, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2006-10-15-health-concern-usat_x.htm.A USA Today poll regarding the quality and costs of the U.S. healthcare system found that a “growing unease” has brought on a desire for a major reform. Eighty percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the amount the nation spends on healthcare, which has…

In July, Dan wrote a quick blog about the Institute of Medicine’s report on medication errors. In sum, IOM disclosed that 1.5 million Americans are harmed every-year by medication errors.Are you ok with this? We are not talking about 1.5 million Americans who die of cancer because there is no…

Are you on any medications? Here is a great idea – look them up on the internet. Go to the manufacturer’s website – read not only the information for consumers/patients, but look at the links for physicians. Is the information on those two links different – you bet it is.…