Articles Tagged with Birth Injuries

When your new baby comes into the world, the urge to quickly hold him (or her) and establish a connection is natural. However, you may have to wait a few minutes while doctors give your newborn a quick bath, take their vitals, and establish an APGAR score. If you are unfamiliar with such a score and what it means regarding the health of your new baby, this post will provide some helpful background.

Essentially, an APGAR score is an assessment to measure a baby’s overall health directly after birth. It measures five indicators, including:

Appearance/skin color – Does the baby’s skin look, feel healthy

When children need surgery, this can be a terrifying experience for a parent, especially when decisions must be made as to where the surgical procedure will take place, and who will be performing the procedure. When it comes to pediatric surgical needs, there may be little information that parents can rely on when it comes to choosing the best venue and doctor for their needs. Moreover, many facilities focus on general surgical needs, (i.e. adults with a number of maladies) and therefore do not have the proper instruments, facilities and staff to handle pediatric surgeries. Children, unlike adults, need special attention when it comes to anesthesia, x-rays and post-op care, and they tend not to receive this in hospitals geared toward treating adults. 

Because of this, a number of hospitals are implementing programs to accommodate such procedures, and to give parents as much information and reassurance they need to choose the hospital to handle pediatric procedures. Additionally, studies show that fewer complications arise when children undergo surgeries in hospitals and clinics that are equipped for young children.

The levels will correspond as follows:

If your doctor is not yet using electronic medical records, it is only a matter of time before he or she does. Though it is not mandatory for hospitals and doctors’ offices to use electronic records, the federal government is strongly encouraging them to do so through both financial incentives and penalties. If medical providers adopt electronic records, they will be paid an incentive over five years. If they haven’t adopted them by 2015, however, they will start to face financial penalties.

While there are certainly benefits to using electronic records, they can and have caused serious medical errors in the past. One major cause of concern is when a hospital or doctor’s office uses a hybrid paper and electronic record system. The possibility of mistake is very real and can have severe, if not fatal consequences.

Imagine going to the doctor and undergoing the normal pregnancy-related tests. After a series of diagnostic tests, your doctor records that your child is showing signs of a condition that will require a specialized delivery technique or specific medications. Yet he or she wrote this note in your paper records, not your electronic record. By the time it is time to deliver, however, if the doctor only has your electronic record, if it has not been properly updated, you or your child could be in trouble.