June 28, 2011
The focus of patient safety efforts in recent years has been on problems in hospitals rather than in outpatient settings such as doctors’ offices and urgent care centers. Hospitals have come under scrutiny for everything from medication errors and hospital-acquired infections to wrong-site surgeries. But a recent study found that serious errors that result in… Read More
June 24, 2011
A maker of pourable fuel gel for decorative firepots is recalling about a half-million bottles after learning of dozens of accidents, including two near-fatal ones in New York, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Wednesday. Reports of severe burn accidents connected to the use of gel-fueled firepots, a relatively new product, have surfaced in… Read More
June 17, 2011
About 30,000 bunk beds have been recalled because of the threat of children becoming entrapped in the bed, a federal consumer agency said Thursday. A 3-year-old Iowa boy died after such a mishap in March 2010. Big Lots of Columbus, Ohio, issued the voluntary recall of the metal futon bunk beds, which can entrap a… Read More
June 13, 2011
The cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin can cause severe muscle damage and should not be prescribed in high doses to patients who have taken it for less than a year or in any dose to people taking certain drugs, health officials said Tuesday. Simvastatin is the second-most-prescribed drug in the USA. It is sold by itself as… Read More
June 10, 2011
Volvo is recalling certain model S60 sport sedans from the 2012 model year to fix their fuel-pumps. The recall, which affects 7,558 vehicles built from Nov. 18, 2010 through May 5, 2011, is part of a growing trend toward recalls for defects that are corrected with software upgrades instead of hand or power tools. In… Read More
June 7, 2011
Written by Aaron Carroll who
Being in a hospital at night or over a weekend can be hazardous to your health, and even has a name: “the weekend effect.” A raft of studies has documented higher rates of death, complications and medical errors affecting patients treated at night or on weekends. “After normal working hours it’s mostly maintenance,” said Jessie… Read More
June 6, 2011
Toyota says a problem with electric power steering is prompting a recall of about 52,000 Priuses from 2001-3 in the United States, part of a global action affecting 106,000 vehicles. In a news release early Wednesday, the automaker said the electric power steering pinion-shaft attachment nuts could loosen and “over time, the customer will gradually… Read More
