Wireless Hospitals’ Systems Can Disrupt Patient Medical Devices

Wireless systems used by many hospitals to keep track of medical equipment can cause potentially deadly breakdowns in lifesaving devices such as breathing and dialysis machines, researchers reported in a study that warned hospitals to conduct safety tests. Some of the microchip-based ‘’smart” systems are touted as improving patient safety, but a Dutch study of equipment — without the patients — suggests the systems could actually cause harm. A U.S. patient-safety expert said the study ”is of urgent significance” and said hospitals should respond immediately to the ”disturbing” results. The wireless systems send out radio waves that can interfere with equipment such as respirators, external pacemakers and kidney dialysis machines, according to the study. Researchers discovered the problem in 123 tests they performed in an intensive-care unit at an Amsterdam hospital. Patients were not using the equipment at the time. Electromagnetic glitches occurred in almost 30 percent of the tests when microchip devices similar to those in many types of wireless medical equipment were placed within about one foot of the lifesaving machines. Nearly 20 percent of the cases involved hazardous malfunctions that would probably harm patients. These included breathing machines that switched off; mechanical syringe pumps that stopped delivering medication; and external pacemakers, which regulate the heart, that malfunctioned. The wireless systems are used to tag and keep track of medical equipment like heart-testing machines, joint replacements and surgical staplers. They can help quickly locate devices that are elsewhere in the hospital and help prevent theft.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-MED-Microchip-Dangers.html?_r=4&scp=25&sq=health+care&st=nyt&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Arizona Judges Void Statute Regarding Expert Witnesses: Doctors to Receive Less Malpractice Protection in Court

A 3-year-old law designed to give doctors some protection against medical malpractice suits is unconstitutional, the state Court of Appeals has ruled. The judges voided a statute that imposed restrictions on who can testify as an expert witness against a doctor being sued. The person not only has to be licensed as a health-care provider but also must be a specialist in the same area as the defendant and actively practicing or teaching in that area. But appellate Judge Patrick Irvine, writing for the unanimous court, said that runs afoul of constitutional provisions that generally give the judicial branch of government the power to enact its own rules. Irvine said the Legislature is empowered to enact rules governing court proceedings only if they are “reasonable and workable and do not conflict with, or tend to engulf, the rules promulgated by the (state) Supreme Court.” This rule, however, doesn’t fit the exception. The 2005 law was passed at the behest of the Arizona Medical Association, which has been trying for years to reduce the number of malpractice lawsuits and the size of the verdicts. Absolute caps on what juries can award would run afoul of specific constitutional provisions. So the medical community has instead concentrated on smaller changes. This law stems from the fact that, in order to win a malpractice case, a patient or family member must prove that the care provided by a doctor fell below the accepted standard. And that requires jurors to be told by an expert witness – someone competent in the field – what is the standard of care. Proponents of the law argued that jurors can be swayed by what essentially are professional expert witnesses who are paid to testify on behalf of patients. The legislation, by limiting who can testify, hoped to limit that.

Please click on the link below to read the AZCentral.com article:

http://www.azcentral.com/business/abg/articles/2008/06/26/20080626abg-malpractice0626.html

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.