Be Aggressive When Your Child Is Hospitalized

You know that mama bear or papa bear feeling you get when you sense something or someone posing a threat to your child? If you're a parent, of course you do. Well, you need to wear that feeling on your sleeve when your child is hospitalized. Every physician and every test performed is a potential threat and you need to rise up on your back haunches and protect your cub. Hyperbole aside, you need to aggressively ask questions, and seek information from his or her care providers when your child is hospitalized. Here is a link to a very good post on the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog about this subject.

The Problem of Medication Errors

I have seen many instances where the wrong medication was administered to a patient -- or the right medication was given in the wrong manner or dose -- resulting in terrible consequences. Medications errors continue to be a huge problem. This is especially so for older patients who often take numerous drugs prescribed by several different physicians who may not communicate with each other effectively. I came across an informative article in Senior Times Magazine about a means for reducing medication errors. Read it here.