Monday, December 31, 2001
Bad Handwriting Causes Deaths
There are estimates that one fourth of all medication errors are directly related to bad handwriting. The pharmacist simply cannot read the doctor’s writing. So why the heck do we still use handwritten prescriptions?
There are some electronic solutions developing. A typical electronic prescribing system is the ePad, from ePhysician. It allows a doctor to write prescriptions, view patient-specific information and drug allergies, and create a list of favorite prescriptions. The ISMP believes that such hand-held electronic prescribing tools could minimize errors related to handwriting. “Yet, even though such devices are available for use in hospitals… less than five-percent of U.S. physicians currently ‘write’ prescriptions electronically,” the Institute said in a statement.
It’s no longer a laughing matter,” handwriting expert Barbara Getty explained. “If an accountant makes a mistake, someone loses some money. But with a doctor, it can cost someone their life.” Getty and a partner delivered a three-hour course on handwriting at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and business since then has been brisk. The course triggered a flurry of invitations from hospitals eager to reduce handwriting-related mistakes and the liabilities that they cause.
Energy Drinks Debate Brews
Bar-goers mix them with vodka to stay up and party longer. Students drink them to help pull all-night study sessions. And some athletes down them to boost performance. So-called energy drinks — a new breed of concoctions with stiff doses of caffeine, sugar and a mixture of herbs and other substances — are fast becoming the younger generation’s pick-me-up of choice. That’s raising the concern of some doctors and nutritionists, despite assurances from the drink-makers, who say the products are harmless so long as people who use them also stay hydrated. Water is an issue because caffeine, like alcohol, is a diuretic that promotes fluid loss.
Here Comes the Euro
Each in its own way, a dozen European countries are blanketing the airwaves this month to prepare their citizens for the biggest currency change in history. Today, January 1, 2002, the new common currency, the euro, will become legal tender, turning the familiar marks, francs, liras and drachmas into museum pieces. This fundamental shift in the paychecks and pocketbooks of 302 million people from the Azores to the Arctic Circle is powerful evidence of how far the continent has moved toward the post-World War II dream of a “United States of Europe” — to use Winston Churchill’s term. The European Union — the EU — already has a common trade market, legal code, bill of rights, court system, flag, anthem, license plate and central bank. The new common currency will instantly become an important factor in global finance. But it may be more important as a political message than as a monetary tool. “The euro is much more than a currency,” said Willem Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank. “It will be a daily symbol of the integration of Europe.”
Watch Out for Bogus Car Charities
This comes from Trang Ho, Pacifica Network News, Los Angeles, CA.
December usually signals an increase in charitable giving because of the holiday season, and it is the last few weeks a taxpayer could have donations count toward a tax deduction for the year. The IRS has warned car donators to check that the charity is legitimate and keeps proper records. What happens to your car once you donate it? How are the revenues generated? Are the cars resold or stripped? How much money goes to the charity? What happens if you end up donating to a bogus car charity, how sympathetic will the IRS be?
The story could include interviews with: a tax expert such as a legal scholar specializing in tax law, someone who has donated a car to charity, the head of a charity that relies on revenues from donated cars, a charity industry expert who will talk about the trends in auto donating, and a used car dealer or auto stripper who resells donated cars. Sound: commercial soliciting auto donations, auto yard, and used car dealership i.e. used car salesmen talking to customers.
Source Article:
http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/185707p-1800946c.html
National Charities Information Bureau:
http://www.give.org/
Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/holiday/giving.htm
Research sources:
http://www.irs.gov
http:// www.Guidestar.org
Industry Experts:
http:// www.philantropy.org
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