Category: Safety
This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. At sites across the region, you will be able to hand in unwanted, unused prescription drugs. During the last Drug Take-Back-Day, Americans dropped off more than 118 tons of unwanted and expired medications for safe disposal. The drop-off centers will be open from 10:00 a.m. to [...]
To mark National Safe Kids Week, Dr. Melissa Hathaway, a pediatrician at The Polyclinic, offers tips for keeping kids safe.
Pediatrician Dr. Melissa Hathaway has joined The Polyclinic Pediatrics at The Polyclinic Madison Center. She has a special interest in preventative care through health promotion, disease prevention, and safety advocacy.
Federal health officials are warning consumers not to use skin creams, beauty and antiseptic soaps, or lotions that might contain mercury after products with the toxic metal turned up in at least seven states.
Despite national efforts to improve patient safety, medical mistakes remain far to common. What can you do to protect yourself from medical errors?
The FDA recently hit the American Red Cross with a nearly $10 million fine for safety violations, lax oversight and faulty testing of its blood services. The fine is just the latest of more than a dozen the Red Cross has racked up in the last decade.
Incomplete and unclear prescriptions, which numbered in the hundreds during the months before the systems were installed, dropped to single digits at both hospitals, study finds.
Key factors that influence how teens drive: their perception of driving risks, whether their parents set rules, and whether there are peer passengers.
When it comes to food safety, the general rule is, “If in doubt, throw it out.” Never taste suspicious food. It may look and smell fine, but bacteria that cause foodborne illness may be present and could make you sick.
Stay warm safely. Beware of carbon monoxide poisoning. Keep your food safe. And check on friends, neighbors, and especially the elderly.
Each year in Washington, dozens of people get sick and die from carbon monoxide poisoning. And many are hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure. During power outages, carbon monoxide poisoning is a major concern when people use charcoal briquettes or generators indoors as a heat source.
With high winds, heavy rain and potential flooding predicted this week, the American Red Cross reminds Puget Sound residents to prepare.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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