Ethicon Media Monitoring 09/6/16

Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel

Online Sources

1. New York Times on the Growing Patient Advocacy Field

   Sep 5, 2016 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk

   It is a new cottage industry, patient advocacy, and it’s born out of a complicated healthcare industry and the unequal power between the medical establishment and insurance and patients.
2. Welcome to Mesh News Desk September 2016

   Sep 5, 2016 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk

   There are now more than 100,000 product liability lawsuits filed in the U.S. by women who claim life-altering injuries from transvaginal pelvic mesh, a polypropylene (PP) mesh that is still used today to treat incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel

Online Sources

1. New York Times on the Growing Patient Advocacy Field

   Sep 5, 2016 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk

   It is a new cottage industry, patient advocacy,  and it’s born out of a complicated healthcare industry and the unequal power between the medical establishment and insurance and patients.

   Patient Advocates are a growing industry and at the present time anyone can qualify.  Many readers ofMesh News Desk and members of the many mesh Facebook groups are already acting unofficially as patient advocates for others similarly afflicted, so this article might provide some food for thought.

   According to the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates  there are about 650 advocates in its group, which is seven years old, according to the NYT report.

    Patient Navigator is one firm that helps desperate patients find someone to step in to deal with the bills, to advocate for the patient in finding the correct medical care, go to doctor’s office visits and to handle tricky insurance claims.  One patient advocate even negotiated lower payments and saved the client at least $10,000.

   Ask for at least three different advocates and expect to pay from $100 to $450 an hour.   A patient advocate hired by the hospital may not be the person who acts in your best interest.

   Of interest, check out Copatient, a patient advocacy site that lets you upload your medical bills and receive a free report and even negotiate savings, for a fee.

   http://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/new-york-times-growing-patient-advocacy-field/
   

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2. Welcome to Mesh News Desk September 2016

   Sep 5, 2016 | Mesh Medical Device Newsdesk

   Welcome to Mesh News Desk, September 2016~ If you are new to the mesh mess you have come to the right place!

   There are now more than 100,000 product liability lawsuits filed in the U.S. by women who claim life-altering injuries from transvaginal pelvic mesh, a polypropylene (PP) mesh that is still used today to treat incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

   There are thousands of other lawsuits filed by women overseas in Europe, the UK, Israel, Australia, Scotland, Canada, among other countries.

   Soon the POP mesh will become a rarity because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reclassifying it to high-risk from a moderate risk medical device.   That will happen if its manufacturers fail to prove it is safe and effective, something now required post-market.  Even the FDA acknowledges the risks of POP mesh outweigh the benefits.

   You may recall that in 2008, after thousands of reports of complications came into the FDA about pelvic mesh, the FDA declared mesh complications were “rare.”   By mid-2011 the FDA reversed that stance and said complications were “not rare.”

   If you are one of the unlucky ones who has a complication, which can occur at any time, you may not agree that a pelvic mesh sling is the “Gold Standard” the term still used by some doctors to explain mesh slings.

   Listen to Project Censored interview your editor recently.  They asked very good questions. Listen here.

   What’s very disturbing is the doctors who have been advised not to use polypropylene mesh as a first-line repair, are still doing so.  We have been told by women recently implanted that doctors say things like “it’s not the same mesh,” or the troublesome mesh “has been recalled.”   Frankly, these things are not true. Besides manufacturers quietly removing some polypropylene mesh from the market for  “economic reasons,” most remain on the market.

   If you are told you need polypropylene mesh to correct prolapse or incontinence, you will need to direct your own medical care and be a truly informed consumer.  Please read this article on true informed consent.  The list is very long.  We hope these pages and the reader comments help you toward your education, especially comments from people who have been there.

   For those of you considering having a pelvic mesh implant, or a hernia mesh implant for that matter, please ask your doctor if he or she knows how to do an alternative procedure using sutures or fascia harvested from your own body.

   After a very long delay, this fall lawsuits should resume again, please keep an eye on the trial schedule, which changes frequently.

   See the additional stories concerning talcum powder and ovarian cancer.  The links are very strong and the precautionary principle suggests you not use the talc for feminine hygiene.

   Many of these stories that affect women are being incorporated into a new website by your editor in Women’s Health Litigation.   It’s still in the design stage, but it is important to learn what lies in legal documents before the court cases that affects our health.

   As we know from experience, that vital information frequently takes too long to see the light of day.

   Onward Friends!

   Jane Akre, Editor,  Mesh News Desk, Women’s Health Litigation

   http://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/welcome-mesh-news-desk-september-2016/
   

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