Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

In an effort to prevent the spread of infection, which can lead to prolonged recovery, amputation, permanent disability and wrongful death, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York, announced yesterday that it was reducing patient visiting hours to 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. In the immediate future, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center will also be screening all hospital visitors for the H1N1 virus (swine flu).

According to the Institution of Medicine, hospital infections affect approximately 1 in every 20 patients, leading to as many as 90,000 deaths each year. Improved infection control practices at Syracuse-area hospitals, such as St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Crouse Hospital, Community General Hospital, and SUNY Upstate Medical University, can reduce the rate of in-hospital (nosocomial) infection by 10-70%. Hand washing alone may reduce infections by 25-50%, although hospital hand-washing compliance rates are, on average, less than 50%.
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Researchers announced today that new cancer diagnoses in Central New York, and around the county, will increase by 45% over the next twenty years to 2,300,000 new cases of cancer per year.

Many of the new cases will be diagnosed in the elderly and minorities. Data suggests a doubling of cancer in non-whites by 2030, to 660,000 cases per year. Cancers expected to increase are liver, stomach and pancreas. These cancers are particularly deadly as they advance quickly and where not diagnosed early, they can be fatal.

At the present time, the Central New York healthcare infrastructure, including cancer treatment centers located within Syracuse, Utica, Cortland, Ithaca, Oswego, Watertown, Auburn and Herkimer, are not equipped to accommodate the surge in cancer diagnoses, especially given the fact that 40% of cancer specialists in Onondaga County, and the greater United States, are over the age of 55. With the expected increase in cancer diagnoses and the apparent shortage of oncologists, the population is at risk for inadequate medical care, including medical malpractice stemming from a complete failure to diagnose cancer, failure to timely diagnose cancer, or failure to properly treat cancer once diagnosed.

Cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, chemoradiation, radio-ablation, and surgical resection, costs more than $75,000,000,000.00 each year (more than 5% of U.S. spending for all medical care). Cancer remains the number two killer of Americans.
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While the Cortland County Health Department investigates three suspected cases of the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, reported in Cortland, New York, many concerned Syracuse and Central New York residents are taking steps to protect or isolate themselves from the community at large. One step is to wear a surgical mask.

According to Cynthia Morrow, M.D., the Onondaga County Health Commissioner (Syracuse, New York), there is very limited evidence to support the notion that surgical masks available to the public help prevent the spread of infection within a community.

Surgical masks available to the public are designed to prevent the person who is wearing the mask from spreading the disease to others. They do very little to protect the person wearing the mask from breathing in bacteria or a virus. In addition, most people do not wear surgical masks on the face properly or wear them even after they are wet with saliva which limits their effectiveness according to an infection control practitioner at Crouse Hospital, in Syracuse, New York. Onondaga County doctors and infection control personnel, and officials at the Centers for Disease Control agree that the only way to prevent the spread of infection is for the ill to stay home.
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The North County Telemedicine Project (“Project”) will begin in May of 2009. The Project will enable as many as thirty (30) North Country hospitals and health care facilities to exchange information through fiber-optic cables with hospitals in Onondaga County and Oneida County.

The fiber-optic lines will allow Central New York hospitals to share data in the fields of radiology, cardiology, dermatology and behavioral health, and will enable doctors to have video conferences and video consultations with specialists around the State. Greater connectivity should help the participating hospitals provide better medical care and decrease medical malpractice and hospital negligence. The Project will also assist Central New York and North Country hospitals make the transition to electronic record-keeping.

Participating hospitals and health care facilities include: Canton-Potsdam Hospital (Potsdam, New York) and St. Lawrence County Public Health (Potsdam, New York), DeKalb Clinic (DeKalb Junction, New York), E.J. Noble Hospital (Gouverneur, New York), Antwerp Health Center, Ken Reil Memorial Dental Clinic (Star Lake, New York), Fort Drum Medical Activity Guthrie Ambulatory Clinic, Carthage Area Hospital, and Carthage Veterans Affairs Clinic (West Carthage, New York), Lewis County General Hospital (Lowville, New York), Evans Mills Family Health, River Hospital (Alexandria Bay, New York), Samaritan Family Health Center (Clayton, New York), Cape Vincent Family Health Center, Samaritan Mental Health Clinic (Watertown, New York) Plaza Family Health Center, North Country Children’s Clinic, Samaritan Woman to Woman Clinic, Samaritan Urology Clinic, Samaritan Medical Center, Samaritan Education Office, Jefferson County Public Health, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (Utica, New York), Crouse Hospital (Syracuse, New York), St. Joseph’s Hospital (Syracuse, New York), and Upstate Medical University (Syracuse, New York).
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An East Syracuse ear, nose and throat doctor (otolaryngologist) was recently fined $20,000.00 by the State of New York for injecting twelve patients with with unapproved Botox (botulinum neurotoxin). In the “pure” form approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, Botox is used as an anti-wrinkle treatment. However, the drug used by Douglas W. Halliday, M.D., was not approved by the FDA. Rather, it was labeled “For Research Purposes Only – Not For Human Use.”

In addition, the State of New York placed Douglas W. Halliday, M.D., on probation for three years. The New York State Board of Professional Misconduct charged Dr. Halliday with ten (10) counts of professional misconduct, including: (i) gross negligence, (ii) gross incompetence, (iii) negligence on more than one occasion, and (iv)gross incompetence on more than one occasion.
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SUNY Upstate Medical University recently announced that it will now offer training to physician assistants in order to meet demands for primary care doctors throughout Upstate, Central, and Northern New York. The Upstate program is unique in that it will train physician assistants in classes combined with medical students.

Recent studies suggest that there is a shortage of primary care physicians in Central and Northern New York. The doctors who do practice in Central and Northern New York are frequently overworked and often are unable to meet the needs of a region, especially in rural areas that have a low physician-to-population ratio. Where there are many potential patients and few primary care physicians, the risk for medical malpractice is high. Physician assistants can help to reduce the chance of medical mistakes, such as a failure to diagnose a heart attack, failure to diagnose a stroke, or failure to diagnose cancer.

A physician assistant (PA) is a medical professional who is licensed by the State of New York to practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed doctor. A PA is permitted to conduct a physical examination, diagnose and treat illnesses, refer a patient to a specialist, order and read tests, assist with surgery and write prescriptions for medications.
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Oswego County Opportunities recently began assisting Oswego, New York residents with arrangements for screening for cancers and related appointments, including mammograms, breast exams, PAP smears, and cervical cancer screenings. During colon cancer awareness month, free colon cancer screening kits will also be distributed.

According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the number two cause of cancer death for men and women. As many as one-half of those deaths could be avoided with proper cancer screening.
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Oswego Health’s Urgent Care Center (“Center”) opens on the heels of the closing of A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital. The Center, located in Fulton, operates in the old A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital building.

The Center does not treat major health problems such as chest pain, shortness of breath, or stroke-type symptoms. Patients with severe complaints should present to Oswego Hospital. The Center is designed to treat cuts or wounds requiring stitches, sprains, strains, deep bruises, mild to moderate asthma attacks, ear infections, upper respiratory infections, coughs, congestion, diarrhea, sore throats, insect bites and rashes.

As compared to area emergency rooms, the Center promises shorter wait times and less expensive medical care.
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