Archive for the ‘Healthcare’ Category

Hospital Sued Over Diseased Transplant

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Cited: AP

On May 28, jurors found that a prominent organ transplant hospital was not to be held responsible for the death of a man who received a kidney from a donor that was riddled with urine cancer unknowingly.

The Queens jury found for NYU Langone Medical Center on May 28 in the medical malpractice case surrounding Vincent Liew’s 2002 death, said the hospital’s lawyer, Robert Elliott. Experts have said it may be the only case of uterine cancer being transmitted by transplant, though the hospital has suggested Liew died of another form of cancer derived from the transplant.

Attorneys for Liew’s widow, Kimberly, who had sued seeking more than $3 million in damages, didn’t immediately return a call.

The hospital had argued that after belatedly learning about the cancer, its doctors did their best to assess the unusual situation and give Liew good advice.

“This was a tragic result for all parties, and we want to once again extend our deepest sympathies to the Liew family,” the hospital said in a statement. “Unfortunately, in this case, the outcome of the transplant could not have been predicted or even imagined by our transplant team.”

Liew, a 37-year-old diabetic who had been on dialysis for four years, got a kidney transplant on Feb. 25, 2002. The donor had died of a stroke, and Liew’s surgeon, Dr. Thomas Diflo, didn’t learn about her cancer until about six weeks after the transplant.

Liew decided to keep the kidney after Diflo concluded there was only a slim chance he’d be sickened by the feminine cancer. He ultimately had the kidney removed in August 2002 but died the next month of a cancer his autopsy said came from the donor.

His widow said the hospital should have urged him to have the organ removed immediately.

One of her lawyers, Daniel Buttafuoco, told jurors Thursday that the hospital took “a huge risk with Vincent Liew’s life.”

The hospital said it advised Liew there was a risk, respected his choice and aggressively monitored the kidney for signs of cancer. Repeated tests found nothing, though his cancer became apparent after the organ was removed.

NYU acknowledged the malignancy derived from the transplant and caused his death, but a cancer expert who reviewed Liew’s records on the hospital’s behalf said he believed Liew suffered from a type of immune-system cancer that sometimes afflicts transplant patients. Another cancer specialist, who reviewed the records for Liew’s widow, concluded Liew’s disease was indeed uterine cancer.

Liew, originally from Singapore, worked in the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York.

NYU Langone is one of the country’s busiest transplant hospitals, having performed more than 1,300 liver and kidney transplants during the last 21 years, according to its website.

According to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 1% of all US organ transplants are suspected of transmitting illnesses, however the data is sparse on information about this.

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My Take: You would think that they would have more information on this type of occurrence. They are so strict on who can be a donor and who gets an organ, why don’t they have a secondary way of checking the organ or donor to make sure that both are healthy. That 1% may be acceptable to the CDC, but I don’t think its good enough.

It’s not a good thing having to need a wrongful death attorney anyway. I actually think they’re also what they called a personal injury attorney. One thing is for sure, she’s not going to need a divorce lawyer in the future. I know, bad joke and uncalled for, sorry about that. Sometimes I can’t help myself.

Sorry, but I’m still in a joking mood. You wouldn’t call Denver CO construction Law lawyers for this type of a situation. Doctors may be reconstructing the person, but it’s not the same thing. Now you might need a Denver contract Attorney, but I doubt it.

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Health Care Made Better

There has been a lot of talk about the various professions that a person who is involved in receiving care from a medical professional who meets the patient in the home and these medical helpers are sometimes lost in the shuffle as far as the members of society who make a significant impact in the lives of individuals who would rather benefit from Massachusetts home care than going to a hospital each time they require help. For anyone who has had to deal with a difficult recovery, enabling a person to spend that recovery at home is a great thing.

Chemicals on the Skin

Although we come into contact with various man-made and natural chemicals every day, it’s not often the case that we consider how the chemicals in those products actually interact with the body. While it might seem like the eye shadow used on the face might just simply sit there, the skin is actually very porous and chemicals very easily are absorbed into the skin when makeup is applied. This is why it’s important to consider using chemical free cosmetics and organic maternity pads products because keeping the skin free of chemicals is a healthy and intelligent choice.

New York City Robotic Surgery

From colon resection and mitral valve replacement to hysterectomies and the treatment of prostate, kidney and uterine cancer to New York City robotic kidney surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center’s Robotic Surgery Center offers dozens of robot-assisted minimally invasive procedures for a wide range of conditions. The center’s surgeons are among the most experienced in the world: In addition to having pioneered numerous robotic procedures, the team teaches robotic surgery techniques to physicians from across the country. They are also the only multi-specialty robotic surgery program in the New York metropolitan area to have two da Vinci Si surgical robots, the most sophisticated surgical device in existence.

New Study Shows Women Find It Difficult to Look at Babies with Facial Defects

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Cited: AP Medical

It is amazing that women have a harder time than men looking at babies with facial defects in a puzzling new research study. Psychiatrists are now studying perceptions of beauty and expected women to spend more time than men admiring extra cute photographs of babies. However, the study that was published raises more questions than it could answer with the psychiatrists from the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, which is home to the nation’s oldest and foremost research program in a psychiatric hospital setting.

Some of the most significant discoveries in the field of psychiatry have been made at McLean, shedding new light on the causes of and treatments for many complex neuropsychiatric disorders. To this day, no other psychiatric hospital or university department of psychiatry contains a comparable range of basic laboratory, brain imaging and clinical research facilities dedicated to the study of major brain disorders. McLean’s nationally prominent research programs are devoted to clarifying the roots, diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illnesses that affect millions.

First the background: The McLean team already had studied men and women looking at photos of adults’ faces on a computer screen. They rated facial beauty, and could do various keystrokes to watch the photos longer. A keystroke count showed men put three times more effort into watching beautiful women as women put into watching handsome men.

For those who may be looking for a plastic surgeon . . . Many people will contact the Destin Florida plastic surgeon because beauty is different things to different people. For many, it is our exterior reflection of self satisfaction, self confidence, and inner peace. Sometimes an accident, health issues, or even an unfortunate gene can leave a flaw on appearance that robs this inner peace and mars the beauty inside and out. This is when Florida plastic surgeons come to the rescue.

Lead researcher Dr. Igor Elman wondered what else might motivate women. Enter the new baby study. This time 13 men and 14 women were shown 80 photos of babies, 30 of whom had abnormal facial features such as a cleft palate, Down syndrome or crossed eyes. Participants rated each baby’s attractiveness on a scale of zero to 100, and used keystrokes to make the photo stay on the screen longer or disappear faster.

Women pressed the keys 2.5 times more than men to make photos of babies with the facial abnormalities disappear, researchers reported in PLoS One, a journal of the Public Library of Science. That’s even though they rated those babies no less attractive than the men had.

“They had this subliminal motivation to get rid of the faces,” said Elman, who questions whether “we’re designed by nature to invest all the resources into healthy-looking kids.”

Both genders spent equal time and effort looking at photos of the normal babies. The study couldn’t explain the gender disparity. Elman noted that previous work has linked child abandonment and neglect to abnormal appearance, and even asked if the finding might challenge the concept of unconditional maternal love.

That’s too far-reaching a conclusion, cautioned Dr. Steven Grant of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the study. The work is part of broader research into how we normally form attachments and what can make those attachments go awry, work that tests if what people say matches what they do.

“Common sense would tell you one thing,” Grant said. “This doesn’t fit with common sense. It raises a question.”

The paper suggests that the findings may have clinical implications in terms of predicting potential for abuse and neglect of children.

The Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Elman, said because the study involved a small numbers of subjects, it needs to be repeated with larger follow-up studies. These future studies should also involve brain scans of the subjects to help pinpoint how men’s and women’s brains function differently when viewing the images as well as extending or shortening the time period they view the images. The study, which also involved researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, was funded by grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

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My Take: To me it seems natural for anyone to look away from a child’s face that is disfigured. Guys always seem to like the grotesque so them looking away would be surprising to me. Women, on the other hand, whether they are mother or not, would look away because it is a possibility for them.

I think the reason it touches when more is because women are the ones who have babies and the thought that a baby can be born with facial disfigurement is almost too personal. I think it has something to do with the maternal instinct in women. Of course, not all women have a strong maternal instinct and they would probably not look away.

I believe there are very few women that would not look way from an image of an infant with a severe facial deformity. I think it has to do with the thought that maybe they could have a child that looks like that and it is not something that any parent would wish for. It is natural for women, and men, to wish for an perfect baby every time. Who has not seen a new mother or father counting all the toes and fingers of their newborn?

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China Complains about US Bans on Chinese Imports

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Cited: AP Business

The United States and Europe have complained of unfair trade practices by China and now China is on the defensive by curbing its exports of industrial raw materials. To top it off, China has filed a challenge on the US banned of Chinese poultry. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has stated they are in compliance with Chinese trade commitments and that they are only meant to protect the environment.

The United States and European Union filed World Trade Organization complaints Tuesday accusing Beijing of unfairly favoring its domestic steel, chemicals and other industries by restricting foreign rivals’ access to key materials. China is a major supplier of several materials.

“The goal of the Chinese side’s policy on the relevant exports is to protect the environment and natural resources, and the Chinese side considers the relevant policy to be compliant with WTO regulations,” the ministry said in a written statement. It said Beijing hopes to resolve the dispute through dialogue in the Geneva-based WTO.

The complaints add to tensions over Beijing’s industrial policies that have been aggravated by the plunge in world trade. China has raised taxes on exports of coke, steel, fertilizers and other goods to curb the growth of industries deemed too dirty or energy-intensive and to ensure supplies at reasonable prices for domestic buyers.

The materials cited in the U.S. and European complaints include coke, bauxite, magnesium and silicon metal. China is the biggest exporter of coke, a fuel made from coal and used in steelmaking and other industries.

The communist government also has rankled some of its trading partners by trying to boost exports through tax breaks and other aid to Chinese producers, which threatens to pump more goods into already glutted global markets.

Analysts expect U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration to file more trade cases against China following his campaign promises to take a tougher approach with U.S. trading partners. Pressure to protect American jobs has mounted as the country struggles with its longest recession since World War II.

Both Beijing and Washington have imposed measures favoring domestic industries in their economic stimulus packages enacted in response to the global slowdown. China criticized Washington’s “Buy American” measure favoring U.S.-made iron, steel and manufactured goods in stimulus projects. Beijing announced its own “Buy China” requirement this month for projects to use domestically made goods wherever possible.

Beijing announced this week it will cut some export taxes July 1 but the goods affected did not include materials cited by the United States and Europe and it was unclear whether the step would mollify them. Taxes on fertilizers will fall from as high as 110 percent to 10 percent, on ammonia from 50 percent to 10 percent and on some types of steel girders from 10 percent to 5 percent. The announcement did not mention coke, bauxite or magnesium.

The WTO hearing process can take up to a year. If the U.S. and EU prevail and China refuses to lift its restrictions, the two would receive approval to impose sanctions equal to the harm suffered by their companies. Separately, the Ministry of Commerce said that Beijing has asked the WTO to investigate a U.S. ban on imports of Chinese poultry.

The two countries banned imports of each others’ poultry in 2004 following an outbreak of bird flu. Beijing lifted its ban after a few months and complains Washington has failed to follow through on a pledge to open its market to Chinese poultry exports.

“China’s poultry products cannot be properly exported to the United States, and this has hurt the legitimate rights of the Chinese poultry industry,” ministry spokesman Yao Jian said in the statement.

It said Beijing has asked the WTO dispute resolution mechanism to create a group to investigate the U.S. ban.

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My Take: Everything that I have read so far about China’s complaint: and of Chinese poultry doesn’t say anything about why. I wonder why? The US has stringent rules of inspection for any food product that is regulated by the FDA. Apparently, China’s equivalent of the FDA is not so, how should I put it, attentive in its work.

As I understand it, the ban on Chinese poultry was because the FDA did not want diseased or infected poultry products entering the US that could potentially cause people to get sick. That is the job of the FDA! They made sure that meat and poultry products on the market are safe for consumption. The source I read on the Internet stated that the areas that the poultry was prepared were not clean and that meant that disease could easily infect meats.

Another reason for the ban was that the bird-flu turned up in Hong Kong poultry and they were selling it to the public. In December 2008, CBS reported about three dead birds that were found to have bird flu. Supposedly, about 80,000 birds were killed and destroyed because of this. According to this article, it seems that there have been outbreaks in 1997, 2001 and 2008. In an 11-year period, they have killed almost 2.5 million birds. No wonder the US put a ban on Chinese folk.

Even if they were giving away shopping bags with their poultry, I would not buy Chinese poultry. Not even fancy personalized packaging could make me pay for infected meats. I will stand on the side of the US and FDA as long as China has infected poultry.

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Enhance Exercise with the Alexander Technique

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

It has been medically proven that exercise can be used to relieve stress. Various studies by various organizations have conducted studies that prove exercise improves physical performance skills. Exercise also helps us to lose weight and fight disease as well as stress. You can enhance the benefits of exercise with the Alexander Technique.

The “Alexander Technique” has been around for many years. This technique helps to eliminate unnecessary muscle tension when you are doing your daily activities including exercise. The technique is taught on an individual basis by certified teachers who have been trained to teach you.

This self-improvement technique is not only relaxing but energizing as well. It is a simple and practical method that will give you greater physical proficiency when you exercise. By learning the method, you improve your posture and coordination when doing daily activities as well as when working out.

The Alexander Technique in New York provides training by improving thinking and doing physical activities with greater ease. The technique will teach you how to use the appropriate muscle groups when muscular force is needed as well as increasing your ability in doing so. In simple terms, how to use your muscles the way they were meant to be used.

This is a method of teaching self-care. This self-care helps to improve posture, ease of movement and reduce stress while doing physical activities like exercising. If you wish to enhance your daily exercise routine, the best advice that can be given is to learn the Alexander Technique. So what are you waiting for?

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Experience Counts

One manufacturer is recognized for manufacturing superior quality wall padding. In fact, they have been considered the “padding specialists” since 1987. Their wall padding has been used in schools and college gymnasiums, sports arenas and ball parks across the country. They have a skilled team of designers who know the world of padding and wall graphics. There are more than just experienced, they are padding specialists, which means you get more than just their collective ingenuity, you get quality. They also know that padding is just not protection, it is also an impressive aesthetic focal point.

Wedding Theme

Now that you have chosen the date, you need to choose the theme or style for your wedding and reception. You can either be general or very specific in your style or theme such as Victorian or Renaissance. Your San Diego CA wedding decorations will be chosen to reflect this theme or style. You also need to consider the difficulty in finding the decorations and party favors for your particular theme or style. For example, depending on your style or theme you may need to have your San Diego CA wedding chair covers made before the wedding and that could be expensive depending on how many people you invite.

What is a Facial?

A beauty treatment called a facial is supposed to make you look and feel better. So you should ask yourself, “What do I want out of it?” Then you have to choose the right treatment provider and know what type or brand of products you want to have used on your face. A Lebanon day spa salon can give you a consultation, which is the 1st thing you should do. During your consultation you will find out what type of skin you have as well as procedures and therapies are available. You should remember to ask a lot of questions when you visit a Lebanon beauty spa.

7 Anti Aging Tips

Monday, April 27th, 2009

These tips will help you understand how to take care of your skin as you age. You should not take any chances when it comes to your skin. You may even find a few skincare treatments you did not know about. In fact, a cosmetic products manufacturer knows of these tips and will incorporate them into their advertising.

Anti Aging Skin Care Tips:

1. The chemicals in smoke can make you look older and help look of the aging process. It actually counteracts any anti-aging skin care you are using now.
2. By using skincare treatments, you can actually restore your dry or oily skin that will challenge the aging process.
3. One of the most important things you can do for your skin to avoid the aging process is to exfoliate and use force to rising creams that will hydrate your skin and keep it looking younger. After cleansing, you should splash cold water on your face. This will help close the pores in your skin.
4. Long-term exposure to the sun throughout your life will make your skin look tough and leathery. Using SPF 30, sunscreen is the best thing you can do to avoid this look. It gives you the ability to get a suntan and protect your skin at the same time.
5. A beauty products manufacturer will do their best to make skin care products simple and easy as well as with a low-cost. Shop around for the best products and price.
6. Using anti-aging skin supplements can help you regain your beauty and get back that youthful look.
7. If you wear makeup, make sure your makeup helps your skin. There are various manufacturers that actually make makeup that will not damage your skin. It may be a little more costly, but for that youthful look is just the thing.

Today, beautiful skin is not something that only the youth have. If you take care of your skin, you can have youthful skin throughout your life.

How to Get Much Needed Medical Equipment Cheaply

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Medical equipment technology is growing exponentially. This has allowed the medical professionals diagnostic information that once was not available using older equipment. Unfortunately, smaller offices and clinics do not have the budget for the much-needed equipment or the ability to keep pace with technological advances.

Many medical care providers face the dilemma of providing innovative care to their patients but do not have the financial resources to do so. Being able to afford a piece of equipment like the A&D Medical Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring System can make a difference in diagnosing high blood pressure.

There is an alternative to purchasing, leasing equipment. Leasing equipment will allow you to write off 100% of the cost of the equipment as operating costs and you can get that much-needed TC-101 Urine Strip Analyzer. This allows you to treat the asset as an operating expense and you do not have to worry about depreciation.

Lease options usually are for terms of 2-5 years and are usually affected by the life cycle of the item you are leasing. Some leasing companies will actually buy any new equipment and convert it to a lease for you. Of course, that does mean you have to pay the shipping, installation, training and any other costs on top of the actual price of the equipment.

A lease will allow you to get that OSOM Rapid Mono Test equipment that you need in your office if you are strapped for cash or just want to conserve it for other expenses.

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See the Difference

The difference in this New Jersey IT services has a team-based approach that gives you depth of experience and an enormous skill set in a group of talented, experienced IT professionals.  These guys keep abreast of the latest information technology trends and developments, always upgrading products and services to better serve you, the clients.  With offices from the East Coast to the West Coast they are available day or night.   They also focus on preventing problems through proactive maintenance plans, which decrease IT expenditures and system downtime as with their NJ EMR.  With NJ IT consulting you gain peace of mind and improve productivity with proactive plans.

Job Hunting

Healthcare jobs listings are available for individuals looking to work as a staff member in a medical office, hospital or operating room. This online medical jobs source was designed to help you reach your greatest potential as a health care professional. This can be a very important resource and a useful tool throughout your career in health care. Many of the fastest growing jobs are concentrated in the health services field and 19% of all future job growth will be in health services. You will find valuable health care job hunting information and resources that you can use to explore the lucrative and fast growing allied healthcare industry.

Healthcare Provider Solutions

Why partner with healthcare supply chain management company? Because every dollar saved during the supply chain process can be spent on more important provider concerns, such as patient care. This company can help you conduct business electronically with over 250 suppliers and even receive electronic responses from non-company suppliers. You can learn how they can best meet your organization’s needs by exploring their solution links on their website. These Healthcare inventory management solutions provide the tools and resources to automate processes, reduce labor, pay correct contract prices and drive more on-contract purchasing. You may find you can reduce operating costs and improve financial results.

World Class Results!

As a board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, the goal of this Fort Worth TX cosmetic surgeon is to treat each patient as an individual with the appropriate treatment prescribed. This includes providing patients with a caring atmosphere by taking time to listen and answer your questions fully. Educational support is given because a well informed patient is an asset to successful treatment. All of your concerns and expert patients will be discussed to help you formulate reasonable goals and as closely as possible to help bring those goals to life. Fulfillment of these goals leads to world class results!

New Inexpensive Plastic Surgery

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Dr. Arie Benchetrit, Plastic Surgeon, will be appearing on April 7 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Pointe Claire to present the latest tech meets in facial and body rejuvenation. He is to discuss various surgical procedures including a wide range of non-invasive procedures. He will also be utilizing various “before and after” photos that will demonstrate the results of these procedures. What is even better about this is it is a free public seminar that is entitled, of course, “New Trends in Plastic Surgery”.

The good doctor will also discuss maintaining a youthful appearance in these economic times at a relatively low cost. This is the number one concern of many people who were surveyed about getting plastic surgery. Procedures that make you look and appear healthier and younger are Botox injections, IPL, facial peels and micro-dermabrasion are all under $500. Any Panama City Florida plastic surgeon can easily provide these for you.

Dr. Benchetrit is also scheduled to discuss the new UltraShape, Accent, Thermage, Photodynamic Therapy, Lasers, injectables such as Botox, Restylane, and Sculptra as well as new treatments for rosacea and acne. You also discuss the Softlift using tissue fillers and Botox for non-surgical facial rejuvenation as well as surgical procedures such as scarless eyelid surgery.

Dr. Benchetrit’s clinic has been in the news recently concerning the new UltraShape device for fat reduction without liposuction or surgery. The clinic has been featured on the front page of AOL, Yahoo and CTV national news and was on ABC’s “Good Morning America”. They have reportedly been asked to appear this summer on the CBS show “The Doctors”.

This all means that you can possibly get a Dothan Alabama face lift or Destin Florida Asian eyelid surgery at lower costs, which will make it more portable for the average person.

Dr. Benchetrit has been giving these free seminars forward 8 years and they are popular. Therefore, if you wish to get more information about Panama City Florida breast implants and other new procedures, make sure you had better get there early.

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Security First

The owners of this medical supply company have this to say about the online security provided, “In today’s environment, security is a primary consideration for every type of business that accepts credit and debit cards for payment of goods and services.” In fact in 2011, the card networks will require ALL merchants to comply with the “Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards” (PCI DSS) and ALL payment applications to be certified and validated in accordance with the “Payment Application Data Security Standard” (PA-DSS). That means if you need to buy home pulse oximeters, you also get a secure purchase online.

Perfectly Fitting Angelica Scrubs

To insure you get a perfect fit, this retailer offers a refund on shipping and on the garment if returned when you place your second order. If you keep your initial test set, they refund shipping and provide a price discount between the cost of the “test” set and a later “perfect sized” order of 3-4 or 5 or more sets of fashion seal scrubs. This is the only retailer on-line or brick-and-mortar to offer this level of customer sizing service. In fact, they keep their prices low and pass the savings on to you.