restorARTively

Still quietly (er, how quiet is blogging?) restoring my own health care. In the past two weeks I have done without all refined sugar while in the past week, I have added the challenge of getting 30 grams of fiber a day. I never knew just how hard that is! Artichoke's are my new best friend! But I hit a road bump yesterday as some emotions began to unexpectedly seep up to the surface and it was time to let them out after a long period of suppression. From the time my dad died and my very well-meaning doll of an aunt put a yellow bowl of Hershey Kisses in front of me, sweets were my friend in grief, anger and challenges. But I am not 12 anymore. I also realized yesterday, not too unlike the volcanic eruption in Iceland, being honest with those around you, sharing the anger or conflict in a constructive and meaningful way can actually be quite beautiful. It certainly remains scary and threatening, but working with others around us, we can set up boundaries and pathways to navigate th...

Among Tom Corbett's top priorities if he were to be elected Governor of Pennsylvania : " Excessive and frivolous lawsuits hinder job growth and hurt Pennsylvania taxpayers by increasing costs for businesses, healthcare, and consumer goods and services. As part of Tom Corbett’s plan to revitalize Pennsylvania’s economy, he will work to pass meaningful legal reform." In the past decade, republican legislators have taken the lead to limit court access to individuals harmed in the health care industry. In 2002 in Pennsylvania, limited tort reforms were passed. Pennsylvania has seen a significant decrease in the number of medical malpractice cases on our court dockets, while in the same time frame there has been a significant increase in the number of sentinel events endured by Pennsylvania's patients (PA Patient Safety Advisory 2008 Annual Report). For a foundation, Dictionary.com offers this definition of frivolous: ~characterized by lack of seriousness or sense ~self-...

Politicians are struggling with bipartisanship and meaningful transdisciplinary conversations over health care insurance. Debate has begun to shift to one of the major factors of steep costs in health care - medical malpractice. Most of the media focus has been on "tort reform" which is symptomatic of the problem, not the problem itself. Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority board member and lawyer, Cliff Reiders, wrote in the summer of 2009 how the tort reforms made into Pennsylvania law in 2002 have significantly reduced the number of medical malpractice claims while at the same time the reports of medical errors in Pennsylvania hospitals have increased . These numbers are significant to Philadelphia and its surrounding area as it houses at least 6 major hospitals and health systems - most internationally recognized as leaders in innovative medicine. Though the worst medical cases may end up in Philadelphia's hospitals, there are many simple patient cases that fall...

DECLINING MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS, INCREASING MEDICAL ERRORS A simple analysis by the Committee for Justice for All in Kingston, Pennsylvania compared public information available on medical malpractice claims as opposed to medical errors. The data consists of Mcare Fund payouts, commercial insurance claims and Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority data. The Mcare Fund is a creature of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and supplies half the medical malpractice insurance coverage that doctors and hospitals are required to carry as a result of medical errors that cause harm to patients. The data shows the number of case filings according to the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts as of April 2009. In the year 2000 the number of case filings throughout the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was 2,632. That already small number fell every year for which statistics have been kept down to 1,602 in 2008. Considering the number of hospital admissions in Pennsylvania, that ...