Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer, according to findings in the British Medical Journal, 253:i2139, 2016.
A novel psychoactive substance, or "legal high," that has hallucinogenic effects and potentially severe adverse effects is being sold to partygoers as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
A single-payer system—government-run healthcare for all—sounds like a noble ideal, but things quickly fall apart in the execution, according to its critics.
Here is an article written by Jeffrey Segal, MD in MedScape. Food for thought.
Poor penmanship was once the bane of prescribing, and the cause of many prescribing errors. Even as electronic prescribing (eRx) has markedly reduced some types of errors,[1] others have cropped up to take their place,[2] and the benefits of eRx are at risk of being overshadowed by unintended consequences.[3]
A common cause of death is narcotic overdose, accidental and intentional. The approval of nasal narcan is a major breaththrough in the timely treatment of this dangerous situation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning regarding increases in fentanyl drug confiscations and a potential increased risk for fentanyl-related overdose fatalities.
|
Editor's Note:
A recent Medscape article contended that controversial legislation now wending its way through the Georgia and Florida legislatures would, if enacted, put an end to malpractice litigation in those states and could serve as a template for other states to follow suit, replacing the current medical tort system with an administrative system for redress.
Bupropion, otherwise known as Wellbutrin, is commonly prescribed for major depression, and for smoking cessation. It's major adverse side effects are seizures; but there are additional adverse effects too. In high enough doses it also increases sexual desire in men and women, and produces a high that has been compared to that of cocaine. The following report describes the data of increasing use. A future blog entry will discuss the problems associated with bupropion abuse.
