About one in 1,000 surgery patients experience the trauma of awareness during anesthesia, and later remember feeling pain and distress during their operation. Many go on to develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress. So hospitals …
Hospitals
Checking In to the Hospital? We’ll Need to Scan Your Palm, Please
Instead of letting precious time tick away as patients fill out forms and scramble around for health insurance cards, a New York City hospital is speeding up patient identification through palm reading – not the fortune-telling kind, but the type that uses a scanner to trace the unique web of veins in individual palms.
Superbowl Ad Star, ‘Mini Darth Vader,’ Puts a Spotlight on Heart
One of the more endearing commercials to emerge from the slate of Superbowl ads earlier this year featured a pint-sized Darth Vader who surprised himself by starting up a Volkswagon with a wave of his hand. Now the boy behind …
The July Effect: Why Summer is the Most Dangerous Time to Go to the Hospital
You can’t control when health emergencies occur, but if you had to go to the hospital, you’d probably be better off avoiding the summer months.
New Use for Duct Tape: Fighting Infection
Duct tape seems to have infinite uses, from the silly to the sinister. It’s an essential tool in any handyperson’s arsenal. But a Midwest hospital system seems to have found a genuinely unique way to utilize the ubiquitous sticky …
Abbottabad, a Hotspot for Medical Care
The scenic valley town of Abbottabad will forever be tied inexorably to Osama bin Laden, at least in Westerners’ minds. But the ordinarily calm, quiet town has long had another claim to fame: it is a major center of medical …
CT Scan Use Soars in Children, Raising Concerns Over Radiation
Bellyaches, head bumps and pain are all ailments that children complain about and parents fret over. But do they always warrant a CT scan in the emergency room?
The Greatest Risk to Older Patients: Ageist Doctors
At first, Britain’s famed National Health Service (NHS) worked perfectly.
“Family Only” Hospital Visitation Rules Get Scrapped
In a victory for patients and their loved ones, a new federal regulation was announced Wednesday that dramatically loosens the rules on hospital visitors.
Study: Stroke Sufferers More Likely to Die on Weekends
A new study of stroke sufferers in Canada found that those who were rushed to the emergency room on a weekend were 12% more likely to die than those who were admitted during the week.
Can Surgery Cure Migraines?
A new study claims that surgery — plastic surgery, no less — has the potential to cure migraines. Of 49 patients who underwent the new treatment (similar to a traditional forehead lift), more than half reported their migraines were completely gone — eliminated. In total, 83% said their migraine frequency had declined by at least half.
