by Michael Matray, editor of Medical Liability Monitor All segments of the insurance industry experience cyclical periods where the availability and cost of coverage rise or fall. When availability is plentiful and premium costs shrink, it is referred to as a “soft market,” and when losses cause insurers to tighten their underwriting standards and premiums […]

by Michael Matray, editor of Medical Liability Monitor Consumer demand for convenience, access and affordability is changing how episodic-care and preventative medicine is delivered in the United States. A novelty 15 years ago, today there are more than 3,000 convenient care clinics in the United States, most located within the nation’s largest big-box retail outlets. […]

by Michael Matray, editor of Medical Liability Monitor Prescription drug abuse is a public health crisis destroying American families and communities at an alarming rate. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the number of people who abuse prescription drugs is more than double the number who report using heroin, cocaine […]

According to a 2013 study in BMJ Quality and Safety, it is tough to get accurate numbers about misdiagnosis, though it is estimated to be somewhere between 5-10% of all cases. Yet, despite this startling statistic, a recent article in The New York Times points out that most efforts to address errors in medicine have […]

Drug prices.  It’s a complicated question. Two cases were recently in the news regarding skyrocketing drug prices that raised many questions. Last month, Rodelis tried to raise the price of TB drug Cycloserine from $500/30 pills to $10,800/30 pills.  And, Turing raised the price of their parasitic infection drug Daraprim from $13.50/pill to $750/pill.  Needless […]

 Let’s have a little bit of fun today. Did you know that there was an award-winning a cappella babershop quartet with a medical theme?!  Chordiac Arrest is it.  And, not only did they sing about medicine, but they were really, really good.  Chordiac Arrest finished in the top 10 in their first international competition and […]

We recently posted on Malcolm Gladwell’s fascinating TED Talk on David and Goliath.  Today, we’d like to explore his thoughts on modern health care, along with a host of other topics.  He recently gave an online interview to One-on-One, with Medscape Editor-in-Chief Eric J. Topol, MD and in it he covers a broad range of […]

  In Malcolm Gladwell’s world, things aren’t always what they seem.  His eternal curiosity about topics we can all relate to, combined with his exhaustive research and insightful conclusions make him a great story teller and help us often see life in a different way.  But, what happens when Gladwell, himself, becomes obsessed with a […]

ICU stays are stressful on everyone: patients and family members.  We have written about the stress of an ICU stay not only on patients, but on caregivers several times on this blog. We have specifically discussed depression in patients post ICU-stay, and PTSD for parents of pediatric patients and family members of adult patients. Another […]