Pennsylvania Law Monitor
Pennsylvania Law Monitor Blog
Telemedicine – Are There Increased Risks With Virtual Doctor Visits?
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
“Telemedicine” or “Telehealth” are the terms most often used when referring to clinical diagnosis and monitoring that is delivered by technology. Telemedicine encompasses healthcare provided via real time two-way video conferencing; file sharing, including transmission of health history, x-rays, films, or photos; remote patient monitoring; and consumer mobile health apps on… Continue reading
Don’t Ignore Vehicle Safety Recalls
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
Vehicle Safety Recalls Are Often Ignored A recent study by Carfax indicated that more than 63 million vehicles in the United States (one in four vehicles on the road) are being driven with unfixed safety recalls. J.D. Power and Associates estimated the number to be 45 million vehicles, while acknowledging… Continue reading
FDA Issues Warning About Dietary Supplements Containing Active Drug Ingredients
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
The FDA has issued a safety alert to consumers involving several dietary supplements including Rhino 7, Papa Zen, Fifty Shades, and Grande X. The safety alert warns consumers that the products may include undeclared active prescription drug ingredients. The products are labeled as a dietary supplement and each is packaged… Continue reading
Should Surgical Outcomes for Individual Surgeons Be Available to the Public?
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
In the 1980s, journalists used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain data on individual cardiac surgeons’ surgical outcomes from the New York State Department of Health. A recent JAMA article discusses that type of data and takes the position that despite its limitations, the data should be publicly reported…. Continue reading
FDA Issues Warning Letter Concerning Stomach Balloons Used to Treat Obesity
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
After the sudden deaths of five people following the placement of inflated silicone balloons in their stomachs to treat obesity, the Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to health care providers on August 10, 2017, warning of potential risks associated with the intragastric balloons. All five reported deaths happened within… Continue reading
Is Doctor’s Disclosure of Patient’s HIV-Positive Status Medical Malpractice?
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
A recent New Jersey case addressed a statute of limitations issue pertaining to claims arising from a physician’s disclosure of a patient’s HIV-positive status to a third party without his consent. Plaintiff was a patient of the defendant physician, a board-certified nephrologist. He was being treated for acute kidney failure…. Continue reading
What You Should and Shouldn’t Do if You Suspect Medical Malpractice
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 83.6 percent of adults and 93 percent of children had contact with a health care professional in 2015. Hospital visits numbered 125.7 million while physician office visits numbered 922.6 million. While the vast majority of medical procedures go smoothly, errors… Continue reading
Recording Your Physician During Medical Appointments
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
Generally, after an examination for a medical problem, a doctor will sit down with a patient and explain what the issue is and offer treatment advice and alternatives. Often, the patient goes home afterward and then and can’t remember exactly what the doctor said. Was it ice, then heat –… Continue reading
Surgical Robots Left Behind Metal Fragments in Heart Patients’ Brains
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
Heart surgery patients failed to prove that they were injured after Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci surgical robot left metal fragments in their brains, said the Eleventh Circuit in upholding a District Court decision dismissing their case. The plaintiffs alleged that MRIs showed that metal fragments discharged from the robot’s… Continue reading
Sleep Apnea Rule for Truckers and Train Engineers Withdrawn
Posted in Pennsylvania Law Monitor
On August 4, 2017, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the withdrawal of their advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) which would have required railroads and trucking companies to test employees for obstructive sleep apnea. This is one of many withdrawals of… Continue reading