When you place an elderly loved one in a nursing home, you reasonably expect them to receive the best possible care. You may hope that not only will their health needs be met, but their safety and psychological needs will be met as well.

However, nursing home abuse is far too common, and there are steps that you can take if you believe that your loved one is in danger.

Recognizing the Signs of Abuse

Some of the most common signs of nursing home abuse are easy to spot. Bedsores, unexplained injuries, matted hair, visible bruises, and drastic weight loss are common signs of abuse.

But other signs are not so easy to pick up on. Your loved one may act fearful when the nursing home staff is in the room. They may be listless, unresponsive, or may look depressed for no apparent reason. They may start to display abnormal behaviors like an objection to being examined (either by you or a staff member). If you recognize these signs, it is time to take action.

My Loved One Was Likely Abused: What’s Next?

By law, the management of the nursing home must investigate any claims of abuse. Inform the management in writing and ask for updates about the progress of the investigation. Talk to your loved one about what may have been happening. This can be challenging because some elderly patients are not able to verbalize the abuse. Others may be afraid that if they talk to you, the staff will retaliate against them.

The first thing you should do if you suspect abuse is to ensure their safety. In some extreme cases, this may mean calling in the authorities, emergency medical care, or removing them from the facility altogether.

Document the abuse. Take photos of injuries, the condition of the patient’s room, and the facility. Communicate only in writing with the management. Know the patient’s rights and the facility’s responsibilities.

Nursing home patients have the right to:

• Dignity and respect
• The ability to manage their own money if able
• The right to be informed of their medical issues or have a designated person informed
• A home-like environment
• A reasonable expectation of privacy
• Freedom from violence and fear
• A safe and comfortable environment.

How to Spot & Handle Abuse?

Be an active part of the patient’s day-to-day life. Make surprise, unannounced visits and ask to see the facility’s care log. Ask when the person had their last meal or was last administered medication. Send new friends or family members to drop in periodically. This way, the staff won’t know to spruce things up when they see you arrive quickly.

If you don’t get a resolution from management, call the state authority on nursing homes and elder abuse. There are adult protective services agencies tasked with investigating these types of cases and will work quickly to get to the bottom of abuse claims.

Conclusion

Overworked, underpaid and inexperienced staff sometimes take out their frustrations on their patients and cause long-lasting harm or even death. Don’t wait if you suspect abuse. Hire an attorney who is knowledgeable about nursing home abuse.

If your loved one has suffered at the hands of their caregivers, they may be entitled to compensation. An experienced nursing home abuse lawyer will fight to get you money to cover medical bills, the cost of getting into a new facility, or the cost of acquiring alternative care. There is no need for your loved one to suffer in silence.

When you need medical attention, you reasonably expect doctors and nurses to know what they are doing. Unfortunately, medical errors may occur at any given time since medical mistakes are now the third leading cause of death in the USA, a developed nation.

The following are only some of the most common mistakes medical professionals at a doctor’s office, hospital, or other health care facility can easily make.

1. Prescription Errors

Sometimes, you might need a prescription to make you feel better or to fight off an illness. However, prescription errors are among the most common errors in the world of medical mistakes and can usually be easily prevented with a little attention to detail.

Some of the ways that prescription errors occur include:

• Writing the wrong prescription
• Giving the wrong dose
• Not writing legibly
• Not paying attention to possible adverse reactions to medications.

There could be issues with mislabeled drug packages, which wouldn’t be the doctor’s fault but could still result in an adverse reaction to the medication given.

When you talk to a doctor or medical professional, you should offer details about any allergies that you may have. If the provider doesn’t pay attention to the details and prescribes a medication that could cause a reaction, this would be an error.

And if the health care professional broke the standard duty of care through his or her negligence or incompetence, they can be slapped with a medical malpractice lawsuit by the injured party.

However, to protect doctors, most states have set in place damages caps for such cases, which is why it is best to talk to an experienced lawyer first, like this Minnesota personal injury attorney, to see if your case is worth pursuing.

2. Preventable Infections

There are many ways that you can get an infection from a medical procedure or while staying in a hospital. If you have open wounds or the doctors or nurses don’t use the proper safety equipment, then it could result in an infection.

Also, hospital-acquired infections are a growing problem as more and more germs have gained antibiotic resistance. Two common examples are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile. Unfortunately, many patients’ health deteriorates rapidly when contracting a hospital-acquired infection, with some of them ending up being diagnosed with conditions much worse than their initial diagnosis.

3. Botched Surgeries

When you have surgery, the doctor usually marks the correct area on your body so that there are no mistakes. If your doctor fails to do this and operates on the wrong side, limb, or body area in general, then it would be a medical error.

Another common error associated with surgery is removing the wrong organ. Using equipment that isn’t clean is also a common medical mistake, which may result in an infection or serious complication if not corrected.

4. Misdiagnosis, Delayed Diagnosis

After providing all the information about your symptoms, your doctor should be able to put everything together to give you a correct diagnosis or order more tests.

Sometimes, symptoms might overlap and be associated with a few different conditions. However, if your doctor pushes your symptoms aside and gives a wrong diagnosis or doesn’t pay attention to test results, then you are the victim of medical error.

5. Equipment Malfunction

Medical equipment that is used during procedures or during treatments can sometimes malfunction. Not all instances of medical malfunction are caused by the product manufacturer’s negligence.

Medical facilities are required to routinely perform maintenance checks of all of the equipment that is used, and if the facility hasn’t checked the equipment, then they could be held at least partially liable for resulting patients’ injuries.

6. Lax Supervision

When you are in a hospital or medical facility, you need to be supervised. If you are not the patient, then you may expect that your sick family member is supervised in the proper way. Medical errors may also occur if the patient is left alone and he or she gets hurt, or their condition worsens.

A seriously ill patient shouldn’t be left in a hospital bed for long periods of time without someone checking on them as bedsores, and other conditions could develop. When patients are left alone, it’s usually considered neglect and can lead to serious charges if something bad happens to the patient.

Lax supervision and neglect are rampant in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, which can have horrible consequences when paired with other medical mistakes like prescription errors or abuse.

Getinge announces clearance from the US FDA of several new software options for the Servo-u and Servo-n ventilators. In addition to the latest software upgrades, Getinge also received clearance for the new Servo-u MR ventilator for the MRI room.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and the heightened awareness of respiratory health has driven the need for personalized ventilation solutions for critically ill patients. Now more than ever, options for personalized lung protection and personalized weaning solutions are at the forefront of respiratory patient health. Getinge strives to support clinicians and patients by optimizing lung protection and delivering solutions for personalized ventilation,” said Eric Honroth, President, Getinge North America.

With this software upgrade for the Servo-u and Servo-n combined, Getinge adds several new functionalities and options across all patient categories – adult, pediatric and neonatal. Getinge broadens its portfolio of lung-protective tools, including Automatic Stepwise Recruitment maneuver (Auto SRM), a standardized and automated workflow that guides lung recruitment and helps clinicians identify a personalized PEEP that provides the lowest driving pressure, which is a variable strongly associated with patient survival in ARDS1 . Stress index and Transpulmonary pressure monitoring, including key parameters for assessment of lung stress during controlled and spontaneous ventilation, complements the lung protective toolkit, which was designed to optimally divide the cognitive workload between the clinician and the ventilator.

Additionally, the clearance includes Heliox therapy. Heliox is a mixture of helium and oxygen that facilitates laminar flow and minimizes airway pressure due to its low density. This helps reduce the work of breathing (WoB) of patients suffering from obstructive lung diseases.

Getinge also received clearance to introduce the Servo-u MR to the US market, a complement to the Servo Family, expanding Getinge’s platform of ventilators into the MRI room. Designed to guide the ventilator into a safe position, the Servo-u MR includes a magnetic field indicator with visual and audible alerts and an auto-lock handle that locks all four wheels as soon as the clinician releases the ventilator.

“We are seeing a transformation in the way healthcare providers view respiratory health,” said Eric Honroth. “With this clearance, we are excited to be part of driving this transformation, working hand in hand with experts and clinicians.”

Getinge remains committed to innovation in ventilation platforms. With its rich legacy of firsts, Getinge is proud to bring innovative products and solutions to clinicians through this most recent 510k clearance.

The new options and the Servo-u MR ventilator are expected to be available in the U.S. in July 2021.

The leading Australian CRO for biotechs and Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific CRO Market Leadership Award winner Avance Clinical has been invited to present on the future of decentralized clinical trials at the Oracle Health Sciences Connect conference.

Title: Decentralized Trials – No Going Back
Time: 23 April, 2021 – 3.05 pm (Australia/Adelaide ACST).

Avance Clinical CEO Yvonne Lungershausen, shared the company’s insights on the future of Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCTs) and the technology and patient factors that will determine success. Avance Clinical uses the full range of eClincial technologies to support clients wanting DCTs or a site-based approach while still leveraging advance technology including ePro, eSource and eConsent.

“DCTs are fast becoming the new norm and this is an incredible opportunity for the drug development sector as well as the diverse and remote patient populations that will now have access to clinical trials,” said Lungershausen.

“The pandemic has been the catalyst in speeding up the adoption of decentralised clinical trial methods, as people stopped participating in trials and visiting clinics. Trials have stalled putting lives and significant investments at risk.”

Yvonne Lungershausen said there are considerable benefits to DCT’s including:

– Reduce the scheduling and travel burden on patients – providing care from the comfort of the patient’s home.
– Connecting patients to trials on a global scale – patients that were otherwise inaccessible under more traditional trial protocols are now available.

And she said challenges include:

– Missed human-to-human contact and continuity of patient care
– Investigational product distribution to more remote destinations
– Oversight of compliance and study procedures in the patient’s home

The presentation also covers advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, cloud computing and blood self-collection devices which are all revolutionising the decentralized clinical trial process.

– Wearable devices are demonstrating enormous potential whether worn as a wrist strap or an adhesive patch on the body. AI-embedded capabilities allow these devices to measure a patient’s heart rate or metabolism remotely. Linked to the cloud through secure networks, clinicians can receive and analyse the data real-time.
– Video calling and electronic reminders, can improve patient compliance in trials – prompting participants to take their medication at the right time or to record in their electronic diary development.
– Technologies are developing to allow patient-centric sampling (self-collection of specimens) with devices that require the use of a lancet and finger prick whereas others do not, making clinical trials even more convenient.

The VA tapped tech giant Samsung and health tech company LIVMOR for a remote patient monitoring initiative focused on the cardiology space.

The program, which began in April 2020, was designed to help gather patient data via digital tools, including smartwatches, tablets and phones, as well as help clinicians coordinate and plan care.

“For me, this program has revolutionized the way that we deliver cardiology care, not only in North Texas but nationally from the national VA cardiology office. Prior to this our care was incongruous. Amongst cardiologists there are subspecialties … general cardiology and electrophysiology—all of those providers are cardiologists but we weren’t able to streamline the patient’s care,” Dr. Lori Ellis, Head of Telecardiology and Digital Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs, North Texas, told MobiHealthNews. “What this program has allowed us to do in that field is to actually streamline a patient’s care in that field so that all the treating providers are aware of the important physiological parameters this patient is transmitting to us.”

The program was built on Samsung products and used Samsung’s data security tool, Knox, which provides HIPAA-compliant security on the device. From there, LIVMOR was able to imbed its remote monitoring tools and work with the VA and build on specific customizations.

“It’s a comprehensive remote-monitoring system that includes a Samsung wearable and a Samsung tablet—a cellular-enabled tablet that is in [specific] mode and leverages the Knox platform. It also includes other diagnostic peripherals that can be customized depending on the patient’s chronic condition—anything from a blood pressure cuff and weight scale to a glucometer, spirometer or digital stethoscope,” Ken Persen, CEO of LIVMOR, told MobiHealthNews. “Very specifically, we are leveraging the sensors on the Gear S2 device to extract pulse rhythm data and activity, and it’s through that pulse rhythm data that we transmit wirelessly through the tablet and send through the cloud for review by Dr. Ellis and her team and the patients.”

Ellis said the new technology helps make care easier for the patient. For example, if a patient saw a general cardiologist and an arrhythmia was detected, instead of referring them to an electrophysiologist and leaving the onus of seeking care up to the patient, the clinician can help set up that connection. Ellis also said she saw more patient engagement since the program kicked off.

“We’ve seen something happen that I’ve never seen in 25 years of practice, and that is patients that want to participate in their own health and they want to comply with the treatment plan that they helped develop. As a provider we struggle just to get a patient to take medications you’d like them to,” Ellis said. “So, you can imagine the last year of this. Program 600 plus patients have transmitted over a million pieces of data and not at the behest of anyone. I think that speaks to the fact the patients believe in this program and the patients see the value in this program and it’s what matters to them. So, to me, that is what sets this device apart from all others that we have had access to before in the VA.”

As remote patient monitoring becomes more commonplace, the Samsung team is looking to further its foothold in the space.

“As we look at these different capabilities, [what] we are particularly excited about is we are leveraging a platform that is readily available and accessible to these patients,” Reg Jones, Senior Director, Head of Public Sector for Samsung Electronics America, told MobiHealthNews. “Our smartwatches, they are smartwatches. They look and feel like a smartwatch, which means they are alleviated from otherwise bulky or inconvenient medical devices. So really packing capability into something that is a bit more consumer-friendly, but at the end of the day backed by a security platform is really quite a powerful combination.”

The VA has been an early adopter of digital tools. In fact, the VA has been offering patient and caregiver-facing apps since 2013. It has a history of working with big tech. For example, in 2019 the VA teamed up with Apple to roll out Apple Health Records to more than 9 million veterans in the US and surrounding territories. The health system has also worked with Microsoft in an effort to use the former’s adaptive video game tools to support rehabilitation therapies.

Samsung has also been in the digital health space for some time. In January the company announced that its smartwatch ECG blood pressure measurement will expand to 31 countries. The company landed FDA clearance for its ECG back in August of 2020.