Hospitals and nursing homes, by failing to properly maintain their water systems, may be putting older patients at high risk of an unusual form of pneumonia, with federal officials tracking 1 in 5 suspected or confirmed cases of life-threatening Legionnaire’s Disease to health care facilities. Anne Suchat, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control….
Continue ReadingStandard of Care--Hospitals
Cuddle your newborn? That’ll be $39.35, please
“Skin to skin” therapy? That was the line item charge that appeared on the hospital bill for a young couple, and the dad decided to check it out. What he found has blown up across the Internet. It turns out that the Utah parents were charged $ 39.35 by their hospital just so the new mom….
Continue ReadingS. Dakota high court asked to pry open hospitals’ secret approval of brutal MD
South Dakota’s highest court has been asked to reject hospitals’ attempts to keep secret why a doctor, who also is a convicted burglar with a checkered medical past that could have easily been uncovered, passed a peer review that permitted him to perform brutal, excruciating, and unnecessary spinal surgeries on dozens of patients. A lower court rejected….
Continue ReadingSurgeon confesses to court lie, says MDs too willing to fib in malpractice suits
A conscience-stricken surgeon in South Dakota has publicly confirmed one of the great frustrations for patients pursuing medical malpractice claims after they have been harmed: He says doctors are too willing to lie in court to protect themselves and colleagues, as he did two decades ago in a case involving a partner in his practice…..
Continue ReadingCan hospitals cure life-saving intensive care units of their risky high-tech chaos?
The spots in hospitals where patients in the direst shape receive specialized treatment are themselves in need of urgent care, experts say, explaining that antiquated intensive care units (ICUs) contribute to needless harm. But how exactly to yank them and the therapies they provide into the 21st century? Usha Lee McFarling, a Pulitzer Prize winner,….
Continue Reading3 hospitals strive for a caregiving rarity: allowing patients a good night’s sleep
It long has been a nightmare for patients. It also likely affects patients’ health, and how happy the public is with hospital care. So why do hospitals make it so difficult for the already sick to get a good night’s rest? Some hospitals in Connecticut, however, are blazing a trail for quiet, lights out, coordinated….
Continue ReadingA U.S. privacy crackdown: Hospital fined $2.2 million in filming of dying patient
Hospital patients who are dying or in extreme duress should not have their privacy exploited by reality television camera shows, federal health care regulators now have made clear. They have just settled with a noted New York hospital on $2.2 million in penalties and fines for its role in cooperating with a celebrity doctor whose….
Continue ReadingGood ideas abound for curbing patient harms; they just need to be shared
What does it take to make hospitals safer so patients aren’t harmed? Big stuff and small, some of it surprising─and all of it mattering a lot. For instance: Getting caregivers to wash their hands. It’s the top cause of debilitating and sometimes deadly hospital-acquired infections. Some institutions empower nurses to police and remind dirty doctors;….
Continue ReadingHospitals make progress in curbing harms to patients, but a lot more is needed
It’s hard not to look at the latest federal data on how hospitals have improved their efforts to avoid harming patients and think, “Pretty good job, folks. But can’t you do more?” Yes, it does sound impressive that a big push under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has resulted in an estimated….
Continue ReadingHospital Satisfaction Is Tied to Readiness for Discharge
Too often a hospital is more like a battleground than a place to heal. Insurance companies want to hold the line on expenses, hospitals want to maximize use of their services and providers of care want their piece of the action. An interesting new study showed that one factor in how happy patients were with….
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