Dehydration hard to diagnose in the elderly
During the summer months, older New York City residents may be at risk for becoming dehydrated. The effects of dehydration can range from minor dizziness to heat stroke. Elderly people have a propensity to become dehydrated due to the medications they take, forgetfulness about eating or drinking and weaker thirst sensations. At the same time, it can be challenging for doctors to diagnose elderly people with dehydration.
Urine tests may misdiagnose dehydration in elderly individuals
For many New York residents, dehydration can cause a number of symptoms that can range from dizziness to an increased risk for heat stroke. For elderly patients, however, dehydration can become more likely due to reduced thirst sensations, lack of hunger and medications. While there are signs and tests, such as urine tests, to determine if a person is dehydrated, they may not be as accurate in older individuals.
Study finds problems with teledermatology
New York residents who are unable to travel to the doctor sometimes use telemedicine to diagnose and treat medical conditions remotely. One area of telemedicine that is becoming popular is teledermatology. Several teledermatology websites allow patients to send photographs to be used for diagnosis and treatment of various conditions.
Medical Assistant Practice Liability
In 2014, the total amount in medical malpractice payouts in the United States was $3,891,743,050. 40% of these payouts were in outpatient incidents while 46% were for inpatient cases. The total payment percentage by gender was 53% ($2,076,790,450) for female patients and 45% ($1,752,854,350) for male patients.
Failure to Diagnose a Stroke and Medical Malpractice
The third leading cause of death in the United States is stroke, killing more than 140,000 people each year. Approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke each year. Of these, roughly 600,000 are first attacks, while about 185,000 are recurrent attacks.
Reducing medication errors in New York
In an effort to meet the goals outlined in the 2007 Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the Food and Drug Administration has released two guidance documents focused on reducing medication errors. According to the Institute of Medicine, around 7,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to medication-related issues, so reducing them is a priority.
What is off-label drug use?
New York patients might have prescription medications that have not been approved by the FDA to treat the condition they’ve been prescribed for. This is called off-label drug use, and though it is legal and somewhat common, patients could benefit from understanding how off-label drug use works and knowing which of their own medications may have been prescribed this way.
Cancers with few symptoms can be difficult to diagnose
New York City residents may have access to some of the best medical professionals in the world, but even the best doctors can sometimes make mistakes. Some serious diseases, including some specific types of cancer, can be difficult to diagnose because they have few or no symptoms in the early stages when they are the most treatable.
Chiropractic Care and Medical Malpractice
According to the American Chiropractic Association, close to 20 million people visit a chiropractor’s office to get relief from various aches and pains and conditions each year. According to the Global Burden of Disease 2010, low back pain is the main cause of disability across the world. People in the United States spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain and 50% of all working in the US report that they have symptoms of back pain every year.
Delayed Diagnosis of Breast and other Cancers and Medical Malpractice
According to statistics, it was estimated that there would be 1,658,370 new cancer cases in the United States in 2015. That is the equivalent of 4,500 new cases per day. Additionally, roughly 60,290 cases of breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed the same year. 5% to 6% of all breast cancer in the nation is among women between the ages of 15 and 39 years. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and throughout the world.