By Hicbd
"Two lawyers, Mike Weiss and Paul Danzinger, were approached in 1998 by an inventor, Thomas Shaw, who was having trouble selling a safety syringe developed to protect health care workers from accidentally being infected by dirty needles. The problems were due to monopolistic actions of a major industry needle maker and hospital group purchasing organizations. The case was settled before trial for $150 million. This was portrayed by the 2011 movie Puncture. Shaw's attempts to get his retractable needle accepted by health care facilities were covered in a 2010 Washington Monthly article."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Community radio could transmit useful / important / peacebuilding information
By Hicbd
"Across the world’s largest democracy, old-school radio stations transmit critical information that enriches — and sometimes saves — local lives...Often operated out of small rooms with basic infrastructure and a minimal, multitasking staff, these stations transmit information both relevant and important to their audiences in rural India."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Countries joining NATO could be liabilities for the U.S.
By Hicbd
"Since the end of World War II, U.S. officials have had an unduly expansive concept of what constitutes worthwhile strategic allies for the United States. In too many cases, the “allies” that Washington touts are small, weak, often militarily useless dependents. Worse, some of them are on bad terms with more powerful neighboring states. Under those circumstances, the so-called allies are major liabilities rather than assets to the United States. Indeed, they are potential snares, ones that can entangle America in unnecessary military confrontations."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Civil grand juries could help keep government accountable
By Hicbd
"In California, civil grand juries provide valuable records of civilian oversight of government activity, which can allow for an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of local government. Civil grand juries are primarily tasked with being government watchdogs, as part of the judicial branch – as such, each civil grand juror is a judicial officer. Civil grand juries are selected by a presiding judge and Jury Commissioner and work together to publish publicly viewable reports that investigate local elected officials, cities, and more agencies within the county’s purview."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Medical gaslighting could not happen
By Hicbd
"Patients who have felt that their symptoms were inappropriately dismissed as minor or primarily psychological by doctors are using the term “medical gaslighting” to describe their experiences and sharing their stories on sites like Instagram. And many patients, particularly women and people of color, describe the search for accurate diagnosis and treatment as maddening."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Cervical membrane sweeping could be an informed choice / consent in childbirth and might not work
By Hicbd
"Doc should absolutely get your informed consent before performing any medical procedure, especially something like a membrane sweep that could induce labor, especially if it isn't medically necessary. Seems appropriate to file a complaint with the hospital and explicitly tell your OB she needs to get your consent before performing any other interventions, barring an emergency situation in which you are unable to give consent."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
911 response times could be better
By Hicbd
"A recently-released Alameda County Grand Jury report made the following conclusion about Oakland's 911 system: 'The situation appears to be getting more dire, as key people leave, the remaining team members are unable to implement the work, patrol officers are resisting, and the 20-year-old system is waiting to fail catastrophically.'"
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Push presents / support could be given to new moms
By Hicbd
"Partners have been giving postpartum gifts for moms for decades, though the name 'push present' is more recent. Google Trends has been tracking the search term “new mom gifts” since 2004, but the tradition goes back long before that. 'Push present' started increasing in popularity in the last decade, partly thanks to celebrity moms sharing their new mom gifts."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
Medicine could be safer / uncontaminated through various ways
By Hicbd
"No government agency tracks cases unless they're linked to a major outbreak among hospital patients. And sudden, seemingly random illnesses in disparate places are notoriously hard to link to a tainted drug... Drug labels need to include only the manufacturer, the packer or the distributor — not all three...Inspectors miss serious hazards. Drugmakers fail to meet standards even after the FDA has taken enforcement action. Hundreds of plants haven’t been inspected for years, if ever."
URL:----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
A Council of Dads / Moms could step in after a terminal illness
By Hicbd
"In The Council of Dads: A Story of Family, Friendship & Learning How to Live, Feiler describes how, after learning he had a seven-inch osteosarcoma in his left femur, he asked six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters' lives. 'I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives', he wrote these men. 'They'll have loving families. They'll have each other. But they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?'"
URL:
----------------------------------------------------------
Please login to comment
