The deadly MRSA infection, estimated to kill 19,000 Americans every year (more than the toll from AIDS), has been virtually wiped out in Norway, with three simple steps: As described in a recent Associated Press article: Norway’s model is surprisingly straightforward. — Norwegian doctors prescribe fewer antibiotics than any other country, so people do not….
Continue ReadingHospitals
From Bitter Tragedy to Optimistic Hope: A True Patient Safety Story
Actor James Woods’ brother Michael died of a heart attack three years ago in an emergency room hallway in Rhode Island because no one was paying attention. Now, something good will come from Michael Woods’ death, thanks to a settlement reached between the Woods family and Kent Hospital in the middle of a jury trial…..
Continue ReadingPractice Makes Perfect: How Patients Can Learn about Hospital Volume
Medicare’s “Hospital Compare” website is something every patient needs to know about. Based on statistics collected by the government program for medical care for patients over age 65, the website has a wealth of information — not always easy to find, but interesting. One recent addition to the site is information about the volume of….
Continue ReadingA Quick Way to Check the Safety of a Hospital or Nursing Home
Patients who want to probe beyond the glossy pamphlets and flashy web sites of a hospital or nursing home to see what the real scoop is on the safety track record have one simple way to get the official government inspection report: Ask for it. You have a legal right to a copy. The report….
Continue ReadingPoor Patient Education Can Be Fatal; A Washington, DC Malpractice Story
Did you know that rupture of an Achilles tendon can be fatal? This common injury has one potentially fatal but preventable complication: a blood clot can develop in the calf while the leg is immobilized for healing of the injury, and if the clot gets big enough, it can travel to the heart and cause….
Continue ReadingInfection Control: A Hospital Executive Speaks Out
The CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston is speaking out about his hospital’s efforts to prevent deadly infections. The question is: How come few other hospital executives are talking about their efforts? Are they not making vigorous efforts? Or are they obsessed with secrecy, as so many in the medical industry are?….
Continue ReadingPeople’s Pharmacy: Radio interview on patient safety
Patrick Malone was interviewed on the People’s Pharmacy radio show on how to avoid medical injuries and get the best care for you and your loved ones. You can listen to a podcast of the show by clicking here. The hosts of this syndicated public radio show are an interesting couple. Joe Graedon is a….
Continue ReadingNew Patient Safety Report Cards in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in showing how public health authorities can cast a little disinfecting sunshine onto the patient safety practices of hospitals. In its latest report, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority says that in 2008, a total of 194 surgery patients were sewed up with a foreign object still inside them. They….
Continue Reading“Dead by Mistake” — the Staggering Death Toll of Medical Error
A new series of investigative articles by the Hearst newspapers concludes that errors in medical facilities are still taking some 100,000 lives per year — a decade after a national report first focused wide attention on the problem. Worse, the reforms that started after that report have been piecemeal and ineffective, according to the authors…..
Continue ReadingSaving Lives — and Money Too — With Patient Safety Reform
A new report from Public Citizen proposes 10 cost-cutting, patient safety measures that would save an estimated 85,000 lives and $35 billion a year. The report, “Back to Basics,” analyzed the results of scientific studies of treatment protocols for chronically recurring, avoidable medical errors. In contrast to the high-tech tests and procedures that many experts….
Continue Reading