Two studies about how hospitals care for patients confirm the wisdom of researching the facilities where you’re considering having an inpatient procedure, and for enlisting a strong patient advocate to act on your behalf once you’ve been admitted. In our Better Health Care newsletter, we’ve addressed how to find the best hospitals and the importance….
Continue ReadingNursing Care
How a Dangerous Doctor Can Keep Harming Patients
Last year we covered the outrageous spectacle in west Texas when two nurses who were appalled at a doctor’s quackish and dangerous treatments of patients got into criminal trouble when they tried to report him to the state licensing board. Eventually the nurses were vindicated, but not before they lost their jobs. Now the doctor….
Continue ReadingOutpatient Chemotherapy Centers Pose Risk of Toxic Exposure for Nurses
A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center reports that nearly 17 in 100 nurses who work in outpatient chemotherapy infusion centers reported being exposed to the toxic drugs on their skin or eyes. Approximately 84 in 100 chemotherapy sessions are delivered in outpatient facilities. As published in BMJ Quality and Safety,….
Continue ReadingYour Medicare Rights at Skilled Nursing Facilities
A woman on Medicare who lives in a nursing home is visited by relatives. They are told by facility staff that the resident isn’t allowed to leave without her doctor’s permission. If she does, she must sign a statement releasing the facility from liability, and that her departure will result in her losing her health-care….
Continue ReadingHow to Rate a Hospital’s Quality of Care
U.S. News & World Report recently issued its ranking of Best Hospitals in the United States as well as a host of interpretive articles to help people refine their understanding of what constitutes “best” and how to locate the “best” hospital in your area. The article “When a Hospital is Bad for You” explains that….
Continue ReadingPhysician learns about hospital errors the hard way
Doctors who aren’t directly involved in patient safety issues often sail through their careers without much awareness of how commonly errors and malpractice infect hospitals, clinics and medical offices. Then they become patients, and suddenly their world is turned upside down. Itzhak Brook, M.D., has been a doctor for more than 40 years. He is….
Continue ReadingDoctor Superiority Is Dangerous to Patient Health
Ask any nurse for stories about dealing with doctors, and you will hear that American hospitals and other health care institutions have a long way to go before civility and teamwork rule the day. Why is that a malpractice prevention issue? Nurses have a vital role as a check and balance to catch mistakes and….
Continue Reading“Alarm fatigue” endangers hospital patients
“Alarm fatigue” caused by the rising use of monitors is distracting and numbing hospital personnel with deadly results, the Boston Globe reports. An investigation by the newspaper reveals that more than 200 hospital patient deaths in the U.S. between January 2005 and June 2010 are linked to problems with alarms on patient monitors that track….
Continue ReadingLouisiana appeals court rejects malpractice cap in tragic case of child cancer victim
The Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Louisiana has ruled the state’s $500,000 malpractice cap to be unconstitutional. Joe and Helena Oliver had sought relief from the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, which shrank the damage award their daughter received for disfiguring injuries from $6.2 million to $500,000. Their daughter, Taylor, developed severe injuries after she….
Continue ReadingBlood sugar monitors: One to a patient, if you want to avoid infection
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning healthcare professionals that sharing blood glucose monitoring machines carries the risk of transmitting the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and other infectious diseases. Their simple advice: One monitor per diabetic patient. In recent years, the number of reported HBV….
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