Critical thinking, communication and honest working relationships between doctors and nurses leads to better patient care. This sounds like common sense, but it is also the result of an analysis done by Dr. Barbara Loeb and RNs Mary Sue Dailey and Cheryl Peterman. In brief, the three main areas that need improvement and hold potential….
Continue ReadingArchives for December 2007
Higher Risk of Leukemia Linked to Anemia Drugs
A thirty-year analysis shows that anemia drugs produced by Amgen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson raise the risk of leukemia incidence. The following drugs are implicated in this study: Aranesp and Epogen (by Amgen Inc.), and Procrit (by Johnson & Johnson). In addition, the steroid danazol was linked to higher risk of leukemia.
Continue ReadingShould Hospitals Pay for Their Mistakes?
What happens when a hospital makes a mistake in medical care, and the harm to the patient results in the need for another medical treatment? It used to be that the patient was charged for this subsequent treatment, which would have been unnecessary but for the hospital’s error. An article in the Journal of the….
Continue ReadingElder Abuse: Nursing Homes Often Use Anti-Psychotics to “Maintain Order”
Shockingly, nursing homes having been giving elderly residents anti-psychotic drugs–not to combat actual psychosis, but rather to quiet symptoms of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia and make the patients more docile and controllable. This overuse of anti-psychotics is so rampant that it accounts for why Medicaid has recently spent more money on anti-psychotics than….
Continue ReadingStudy: Common Treatments for Sinus Infection No Better Than Placebos
Acute sinusitis is often treated with antibiotics, and possibly also a topical steroid. However, a recent study found this common treatment to be no more effective than a placebo. Commenters on the study have noted that there may be some patients for whom antibiotics might help, but there is no reliable way for a clinician….
Continue ReadingChecklists to Save Lives in the ICU
An article in the New Yorker by Atul Gawande highlights the simple ways in which hospitals can be made less dangerous places for their patients. A checklist to make sure intensive care doctors and nurses handle catheters correctly has been proven to dramatically reduce the risk of deadly infections. Gawande focuses on the work of….
Continue ReadingNew Study: Doctors Reluctant to Report Errors
A new study shows that although an overwhelming majority of doctors believe they should report colleagues who make serious medical errors or otherwise violate professional standards, most do not actually do so. This hesitance to report colleagues is understandable. But it makes detecting, tracking and studying medical error very difficult. The senior author of the….
Continue ReadingHospitals Try to Combat MRSA
Hospitals have been getting some negative attention recently as a result of their high rates of infection. That is why it is good to hear that they are stepping up efforts to fight MRSA, one of the worst “superbugs” that infect patients in hospitals. Their efforts can be boiled down to two categories: testing and….
Continue Reading