Licensed to Harm: How State Medical Boards Fail to Protect Patients Any working professional who made 33 different mistakes in their job deserves to be fired, disciplined, or both, right?  What if those mistakes contributed to the extreme suffering or death of another person? At that point, it becomes a no-brainer.  And yet, a Dallas doctor (nicknamed Dr. Death) conducted 33 botched surgeries in two years, with his patients suffering pain, paralysis, and death, according to an investigation by ProPublica.  Multiple hospitals neglected to report his malpractice, letting him resign instead of firing him. The Texas Medical Board was slow…

Arizona Minimum Insurance Levels Fail to Keep Pace With Economy In the U.S., motor vehicle accidents are responsible for staggering economic losses.  Each year, over 40,000 people are killed, and more than 2 million are injured in crashes, resulting in over $340 billion in economic costs, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  Yet, only 54% of these costs are covered by insurance companies. The remaining 46% falls on crash victims, healthcare providers, charities, and local governments, leaving taxpayers indirectly responsible​. The growing costs associated with motor vehicle accidents and the inadequacies of current state minimum…

What Arizona Seniors Need to Know About Polypharmacy When an 83-year-old grandmother landed in the hospital for an asthma attack, she never expected to come out worse than she went in. But that’s exactly what happened. After receiving steroids to treat her asthma, she developed high blood pressure and vertigo. Doctors then prescribed a medication to control her blood pressure, which made her dizzy. When her ankles began to swell, they added a water pill, leading to dangerously low potassium levels. The solution? More drugs: potassium supplements and medication for osteoporosis. That, in turn, led to gastric bleeding. “I came…

How to Identify a Traumatic Brain Injury Before It Gets Worse Picture this scenario: you slip on a slick spot while walking the dog one morning. You fall backward, hit your head on the pavement, and blackout for just a moment. When you come to, you are dazed but otherwise feel fine. There’s no blood, no visible injury, and just a sore bump on the back of your head. You laugh it off, finish the walk, and head to work. Over the next few days, things start to feel … off. You’re having trouble focusing, forgetting what was just said,…

How Parents Can Talk to Their Teens About Distracted Driving The windows are down, the music is up, and the wide-open road is ahead. Your teen is driving for the first time. It’s a mix of excitement, independence, and a thrilling sense of possibility. Getting a driver’s license is a major milestone for teens and a moment of both pride and panic for parents. That first taste of freedom comes with serious responsibility: teen driver safety. One of the biggest threats on the road is distracted driving, especially among teenagers who are still developing their driving skills. The National Highway…