by medicaltechont | Apr 8, 2017 | Healthcare, Legal, Ontario, Technology
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a 24-month damage award to a long-service nurse in a doctor’s office who believed that she had been fired during a hostile meeting with her employer.
The doctor for whom she worked wanted her to look into electronic medical records (EMR). She was overwhelmed with a heavy workload and did not get to it. The doctor angrily confronted her in a meeting, at which the doctor’s wife was also present. The court found that the doctor, in his anger, said, “Go! Get out! I am so sick of coming into this office every day and looking at your ugly face.” He also pointed at her, shouted at her, accused her of being resistant to change, and used profanity during that meeting. The employee, distraught, left the meeting and never returned to work. The employer treated her as having quit. The employee sued for wrongful dismissal.
Read more at http://www.occupationalhealthandsafetylaw.com/your-ugly-face-employers-condescending-aggressive-hostile-and-profane-behaviour-in-one-meeting-resulted-in-constructive-dismissal-nurse-awarded-24-months-in-damages
by medicaltechont | Mar 6, 2017 | hackers, Healthcare, Hospitals, Medical Records, Security
HACKED MEDICAL DEVICES make for scary headlines. Dick Cheney ordered changes to his pacemaker to better protect it from hackers. Johnson & Johnson warned customers about a security bug in one of its insulin pumps last fall. And St. Jude has spent months dealing with the fallout of vulnerabilities in some of the company’s defibrillators, pacemakers, and other medical electronics. You’d think by now medical device companies would have learned something about security reform. Experts warn they haven’t.
Read more at https://www.wired.com/2017/03/medical-devices-next-security-nightmare/
by medicaltechont | Mar 5, 2017 | Technology
Shortly after our story ran, the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) released a report based on The Commonwealth Fund’s 2016 international survey that highlighted this continued issue. According to the survey, Canada maintained its position as the worst of all 11 countries surveyed when it came to access to specialists. Fifty-six percent of us are waiting longer than a month to see a specialist—well over the international average of 36 percent.
Read more at http://healthydebate.ca/2017/02/topic/wait-times-specialists
by medicaltechont | Feb 13, 2017 | Healthcare
The rapid advancement of medical technology has contributed to people living longer, healthier lives but consumer and campaign groups say devices should come under more scrutiny before they are used on patients.
Those calling for tighter rules in the EU will get a step closer to their aims when the new Medical Device Regulation (MDR) – due to enter into force in May – will include requiring manufacturers to give more information about devices and making it easier to trace and recall faulty products.
Industry representatives say they agree there should be a tougher legal framework but are wary that adding too much bureaucracy could “block innovation”. Campaigners say they await “the devil in the detail” but don’t believe the MDR has gone far enough.
Read more at https://euobserver.com/health/136825
by medicaltechont | Feb 12, 2017 | Cancer, Toronto
Liver cancer is to blame for more than a thousand deaths every year in Ontario — and most of these occur in the Greater Toronto Area. In fact, the epidemic level of liver cancer in this city often goes unrecognized, as it’s diluted by provincial and national statistics.
So what is it about Toronto that makes it such a hot spot for this type of cancer?
Most of the cases occur in patients with chronic liver disease, typically due to chronic blood-borne infections with the hepatitis B or C viruses.
The transmission of hepatitis B occurs mainly from mother to child and is prevalent in several regions of the world. Immigrants from East Asian and African communities are at an especially elevated risk of carrying hepatitis B, and of developing liver cancer. Hepatitis C is found throughout the world and mainly spread through sharing and inadequate sterilization of needles and syringes. Those who’ve been exposed to infected blood are also at a higher risk — and adults born between 1945 and 1975 are much more likely to have been exposed to hepatitis C. Both infections are silent, with no symptoms until it is too late.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2017/02/06/doctors-notes-why-toronto-is-a-liver-cancer-hot-spot.html
