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February 2008: Medical Professionals' Communication with Patients is Lacking. Studies have cited a more than $73 billion dollar annual unnecessary cost related to the inability of patients to understand what medical providers communicate to them. What are the top 10 mistakes that healthcare practitioners make?
1. Creating literature to accompany the taking of medications that
is written at 11th grade reading level, rather than 6th grade or
lower, the level at which the majority of the country's population
reads.
2. Communicating in medical jargon when it's not necessary,
including using terms like "otitis media" and "myocardial
infarction" instead of "ear ache" and "heart attack" when informing
patients of their condition.
3. Developing reading materials with a printing type that is 10
font sizes too small for the patient -- particularly seniors, the
country's largest patient population -- to read.
4. When giving verbal directions to a patient, not asking the
patient to repeat the instructions back so to guarantee that he or
she clearly understands the information.
5. Not recognizing that there are more than 90 million U.S. citizens
read who read at a 3rd-5th grade reading level.
6. Not recognizing that a patient's response of "yes" or a simple
nod might mean the patient is merely being polite but actually does
not understand what they have just been told.
7. Displaying and distributing mass-produced written brochures and
bulletins in doctors' offices and clinics that staff have not read
or checked through to make sure the material is up to date and in
line with that of their own medical policies and recommendations.
8. Talking too quickly to the patient and not allowing time for
the patient to ask questions in response.
9. Not providing medical information in the patient's first
language.
10. Not being logical when labeling prescription bottles with
directions, such as "take with food," when it should really read
"take with water and food" for patients who take every direction
literally and might surmise, as has happened with seniors, that
this means the medication should be folded into food before trying
to swallow.
Many medical negligence cases can be connected to failed communication. Call Lacker & Associates today at 610-696-1763 and we will cost effectively help you determine if there were lapses in communication that contributed to your negligence case.
June 2007: Analysis of previous research showed Avandia, the world's top selling oral diabetes medication, may raise a patient's chance of having a heart attack. In fact, Avandia ingestion may raise that risk by 43 percent. These findings, released by the New England Journal of Medicine in May of 2007, were a compilation of analyzed data from 42 studies involving 15,560 patients who took the drug and 12,283 patients who were given other medication or a placebo. If your firm routinely handles pharmaceutical litigation, call Lacker & Associates today at 610-696-1763, to discuss our services. We have extensive experience in drug litigation for both Plaintiff and Defense firms. We can provide intake triage, legal record review, medical record review with targeted data analysis and extraction, chronology development, meta analysis of large groups of claims and case triage services. We can also assist firms with drug research and the compilation of triage and analysis benchmarks.
March 2007: Cynthia Lacker, RN, MS, CLNC, LNCC was a presenter for the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants in Orlando Florida. Ms. Lacker presented a 70-minute discussion on the role of the legal nurse consultant in pharmaceutical litigation. She covered legal theory; an overview of pharmaceutical cases, both past and present, including allegations, defense perspectives and court opinion; and work product creation. The National Alliance for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants' annual conference regularly draws over 1000 participants and Ms. Lacker was honored to present to other professionals in the field. Please call 610-696-1763 to inquire about other educational topics available from Lacker & Associates.
August 2006: Nursing Home and Elder Abuse: When abuse or neglect occurs in nursing homes and other assisted living facilities, it is often referred to as "institutional abuse." Institutional abuse can come in many forms, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse can be caused by hitting, unreasonably restraining, inappropriately drugging, refusing to transport, burning, and almost any other type of abusive physical contact imaginable.
General neglect of seniors is the most prevalent type of abuse. Neglect is the result of a lack of interest in the well being of the senior citizen. While physical, sexual, and mental abuse are the result of intentional and purposeful acts of the staff, neglect may occur when a caregiver simply does not care. Caregivers neglect their duty when they fail to provide some necessary element for the resident's survival. Such neglect can include anything from failing to provide food & water to not paying the heating bill.
Mental abuse of the elderly, while perhaps not as visible as physical abuse, can be just as, if not more so debilitating. One must be vigilant to uncover mental abuse, as the consequences of such abuse may not be immediately apparent. Mental abuse includes, but is not limited to, verbally harassing or intimidating the resident, intentionally not speaking to the resident, and isolating the resident from friends and family.
Lacker & Associates is available to interpret long term care medical records, and compare the care rendered to federal and state regulations. Call today at 610-696-1763 for your free telephone consultation.
April 2006: Fusarium keratitis is a rare but serious corneal infection caused by the fungus Fusarium. Fusarium species are normally found in many plants, soil, and tap water. Fungal keratitis can be associated with trauma to the surface of the eye, immunodeficiencies, and contact lens use.
Symptoms include, but may not be limited to, eye pain, redness, blurry vision and discharge from the eye. Without treatment, Fusarium keratitis can scar the cornea, leading to significant loss of vision and the need for a corneal transplant.
In April 2006, eye care maker Bausch & Lomb stopped shipments of ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution because of a link to Fusarium keratitis. The CDC is reviewing reports of over 100 cases of contact lens related Fusarium keratitis. Lacker & Associates
can assist in the research and analysis of these and other types of product liability cases. From initial intake, through medical research and analysis, to chronology and report preparation, to litigation analysis, we can help firms maximize their litigation potential. Call us today at 610-696-1763. We are focused on you!
January 2006 -
-World's Largest Drug Database. A great tool for legal nurse consultants, attorneys, physicians, pharmacists, researchers
and the general public is the DrugBank. Created by Dr. David Wishart and colleagues, it is the world's largest and most complete resource on drugs and
drug targets. Find them at http://redpoll.pharmacy.ualberta.ca/drugbank. For these and other great medical resources, rely on Lacker & Associates, providing medical
expertise to attorneys nationwide. Initial consultation is always complimentary at 877-299-4345.
December 2005 -
-Cynthia Lacker, RN, MS, LNCC of Lacker & Associates has acheived CaseSoft training and support certification. We now offer customized training
for legal nurse consultants, attorneys and paralegals. Call 610-696-1763 today for more information.
October 2005 -
-A $20 Million Dollar Suit is being filed by the ACLU. The father of a man killed after being subdued with Taser stun guns in Las Vegas has filed a wrongful death
lawsuit for $20 million dollars in US Federal Court against both the Metro Police Department and Taser International. The Decedent died of cardiac arrest last year after being shocked with the Taser.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is filing the lawsuit against Taser International for $10 million for both wrongful death and violations against the Decedent's civil rights.
Another $5 million is being sought from each of the 2 officers involved in the man's death. The ACLU has long maintained that taser use is linked to deaths in several cases throughout the the country. Taser International maintains their product is safe and more humane than other police restraint devices such as batons or guns.
Lacker & Associates can help attorneys develop personal injury cases including motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, wrongful death, animal bites and many others. Let our expertise help you win your case and/or maximize your settlement position. Call us directly at 610-696-1763 and we will provide a free telephone consultation for your case.
April 2005 -
-FDA: COX-2 Selective and Non-Selective Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) After concluding that the overall risk versus benefit profile is unfavorable, FDA has requested Pfizer, Inc. to voluntarily withdraw Bextra (valdecoxib) from the market. This request is based on:
* The lack of adequate data on the cardiovascular safety of long-term use of Bextra, along with the increased risk of adverse cardiovascular (CV) events in short-term coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) trials that FDA believes may be relevant to chronic use.
* Reports of serious and potentially life-threatening skin reactions, including deaths, in patients using Bextra. The risk of these reactions in individual patients is unpredictable, occurring in patients with and without a prior history of sulfa allergy, and after both short- and long-term use.
* Lack of any demonstrated advantages for Bextra compared with other NSAIDs. Patients currently taking Bextra should contact their physicians to consider alternative treatments. FDA is also asking manufacturers of all marketed prescription NSAIDs, including Celebrex (celecoxib), a COX-2 selective NSAID, to revise the labeling (package insert) for their products to include a boxed warning and a Medication Guide. The boxed warning will highlight the potential for increased risk of CV events with these drugs and the well-described, serious, and potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding associated with their use. The Medication Guide will accompany every prescription NSAID at the time it is dispensed to better inform patients about the CV and GI risks. Finally, FDA is asking manufacturers of non-prescription (OTC) NSAIDs to revise their labeling to include more specific information about the potential GI and CV risks, and information to assist consumers in the safe use of the drug. This announcement does not apply to aspirin as it has clearly been shown to reduce the risk of serious adverse CV events in certain patient populations.
Lacker & Associates is poised to assist attorneys develop these cases. We have custom templates developed specifically for product liability work. Call us today at 610-696-1763 for more information.
March 2005 -
- Lacker & Associates invests in ECRI's Healthcare Risk Control system. We give our clients access to the
most pertinent healthcare risk information in the nation. This system, coupled with ECRI's healthcare standards on-line directory, means that our firm
offers clients simply the best resources for medical risk analysis available today. For more information regarding ECRI, or how we can help you develop your cases with these
resources, please call 610-696-1763. Let us help you develop your case today!
December 2004 -
- Cynthia Lacker is Certified in CaseMap products. Cynthia Lacker has earned CaseSoft Product Certification in Document Indexing using CaseMap case analysis software. Let us put our knowledge to use for your firm by electronically processing your files - we save you time and money!
Ms. Lacker has also earned certification in CaseSoft's TimeMap timeline graphing software. With this knowledge, timelines and graphs are easy to create and can be used to illustrate more than just the dates of critical facts in your case. We use timelines to view critical events leading up to trial, to explore facts graphed on a timeline, and as a marketing tool by graphing events for new clients to evaluate. Call Lacker & Associates today at 877-299-4345 to find out how we can become a part of your litigation support team using this powerful software.
October 2004 -
- Ankle Fracture Cases Screening cases for merit is one service provided by Lacker & Associates. We evaluate each case based upon medical standards of care. See our latest article, "Screening Ankle Fracture Cases" for an example of the medical standards we might use to evaluate a missed or under-treated ankle fracture, HERE. Be sure to check back often for new articles and information!
August 2004 -
– Lacker & Associates is now based in Philadelphia! We have relocated and are prepared to accept case assignments. Please contact us at our new location, or with the same toll-free number, 877-299-4345.
June 2004 -
– Lacker & Associates is on the move, relocating from Colorado to Philadelphia! Please route all correspondence to lackerc@medical-eyes.net
or contact us via our toll-free number, which is 877-299-4345. You can leave voice mail and send faxes to this number, as well. Our new contact information in Pennsylvania will be posted on the web-site soon!
June 2004 -
– Lacker & Associates has recently upgraded to CaseMap 5.0. We love the new ReportBooks feature that has been added to this version of CaseMap. As with all CaseSoft products, this feature is fully customizable. We have already created a ReportBooks specifically for Personal Injury Cases, which includes some of our most frequently requested reports (Diagnoses and Symptoms Report, Alerts/Conflicting Information Report, etc…). Currently, we are creating ReportBooks specific to Criminal Defense and Medical Malpractice issues. Call us at 877-299-4345 to discuss your firm’s needs, and we will customize reports that match your particular requirements.
February 2004 -
- Inappropriate Drug Prescriptions for the Elderly - Patients over 65 years of age are often prescribed inappropriate medications in outpatient settings, according to a study presented in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed physicians between 1995 and 2000 regarding patterns of drug prescribing for elderly patients in ambulatory care settings. Inappropriate prescribing was defined as the use of any drug considered to be "potentially inappropriate" or "rarely/never appropriate" for elderly patients based on drug lists developed by expert panels in geriatric care and cited from previous studies. In 2 of the 5 years studied, at least one inappropriate drug was prescribed during 8% of the visits. The most commonly prescribed inappropriate drugs were pain relievers and central nervous system drugs. Drugs prescribed most often (58% of all visits) during 2000 were diazepam, amitriptyline, hydroxyzine, propoxyphene, and oxybutynin. The authors concluded that there was no decrease from 1995 to 2000 in inappropriate prescribing of drugs to the elderly. They attributed inappropriate prescribing in this study to patient demand for certain drugs, cost considerations, and physicians' lack of awareness of drug risks in the elderly.
References: Goulding MR. Inappropriate medication prescribing for elderly ambulatory care patients. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:305-12. [http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/164/3/305]
February 2004 -
- Ms. Lacker was chosen as the winner in a writing contest sponsored by the Medical Legal Institute. For more information about this year's National Association of Certified Legal Nurse Consultant's (NACLNC) Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA, visit www.legalnurse.com
January 2004
- Read my latest article, Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy, written for LNCResource, the nation's first newspaper created exclusively for legal nurse consultants.
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