National Activity (346 items)
As of 2013, a national physician payment database created under the Affordable Care Act will make such information available to all.
HealthLeaders Media reports on Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project call to open the National Practitioner Data Bank to the public.
The Obama administration has reposted the Public Use Data File but with new restrictions that ProPublica journalist Charles Ornstein says are "unworkable and amount to a prior restraint."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced today that it has awarded $34 million in fiscal year 2011 for grants and contracts to hospitals, academic medical institutions, and health care research organizations to expand the fight against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
The Obama administration should restore the Public Use File of the National Practitioner Data Bank for use by the public.
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley sent a letter today to the Health Resources and Services Administration, criticizing its decision to remove a public version of the National Practitioner Data Bank, which has helped reporters and researchers to expose serious gaps in the oversight of physicians.
A retired National Practitioner Data Bank official (Robert Oshel) criticized a decision by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration for removing the Public Use File of the National Practitioner Data Bank from the agency’s website – a major development as journalism groups fight to restore access to the important tool.
A new national study indicates that too many hospitals are fumbling and could face penalties if they don't improve within a year. Texas hospitals respond.
Six journalism groups have appealed to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to intervene in the dispute over the Public Use File of the National Practitioner Data Bank and restore access to this important data tool.
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration resisted demands by three major journalism organizations for the immediate restoration of a Public Use File of the National Practitioner Data Bank, a tool that reporters have used to expose lapses in oversight of troubled physicians.
"President Barack Obama’s administration has gone overboard in trying to protect physicians from the public’s right to glean essential information about their doctors."
The Obama administration has closed public access to its database of disciplinary action against doctors and other medical professionals, basically because reporters were getting too good at using it.
NYT coverage of the Joint Commission report on hospital process measures. Consumers Union Safe Patient Project Director, Lisa McGiffert, quoted: "Highlight the poorest performers."
The Kansas City Star reports on the HHS taking down the National Practitioner Data Bank Public Use File. Lisa McGiffert, Director of Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project quoted. A Health and Human Services Department’s Health Resources and Services Administration spokesman says the file is likely to be down for 6 months or more and may not return in the same format.
The Health Resources and Services Administration has removed the Public Use File from the National Practitioner Data Bank's website because of confidentiality concerns.
A coalition of state and national patient safety activists, including Consumers Union, are pressing Congress to open reports by The Joint Commission, a non-profit group that performs most of the hospital accreditations performed nationwide. The federal government does not disclose the survey results now. Making the survey results public would give patients more information about hospitals' operations, including their efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections, and foster greater transparency.
PBS national news segment on antibiotic toxicity. The ten minute PBS video shows that the FDA only picks up one in ten adverse drug reactions.
Two reporters use the National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal database that tracks malpractice cases, to find settlement amounts for medical lawsuits.
Oregon cancer patient affected by drug shortages of his chemotherapy. Drug shortages are a growing national problem, and as a result, patients are getting late treatments, substitute medications, or decreased drug doses for serious illnesses.
"The National Academy of Sciences says in an FDA-commissioned report that thousands of medical devices are allowed to go on the market without proper testing for safety. The FDA disputes the finding."
Starting in October 2013, Medicare payments to outpatient surgery centers will be affected by the rates of problems at these facilities.
CDC Releases Infection Prevention Guide to Promote Safe Outpatient Care
WebMD coverage of a new Consumer Reports Health study on central line-associated bloodstream infections in hospitals across the country. You can view the study here.
An estimated 12,000 Californians die annually from preventable hospital infections, according to state Department of Public Health statistics. Read about what some California hospitals are doing to address the problem.
A lack of urgency at the California Department of Public Health stifles progress on hospital infection prevention, leaving California patients at risk.
Hospitals are required to report their ICU central-line infection rates or risk losing 2% in Medicare pay.
A four-year MRSA prevention program yields significant results--CDC should make MRSA screening a tier one prevention category.
The Obama administration announced a new patient-safety program Tuesday on the heels of medical journal Health Affairs publishing a study showing that one in three people admitted to hospitals suffers a medical error or accident. Margaret Warner talks with Heath Affairs' Susan Dentzer about the study and the new plan.
The Obama administration announced Tuesday an initiative aimed at reducing the number of medical errors that occur in U.S. hospitals.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a new hospital-safety plan for the nation, but they left out any mention of letting patients know how things are going.
CU's Safe Patient Project Director, Lisa McGiffert, quoted by CNN health blog on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) "Partnership for Patients" initiative.
This report is the first of its kind in Connecticut, allowing consumers to view central line associated bloodstream infection data reported by Connecticut hospitals.
Federal regulators say they are moving to make once-confidential data about the performance of kidney dialysis clinics more readily available to the public.
Local boy who's battling leukemia contracted bacterial infection from tainted alcohol wipes recalled by the FDA two months later.
Safe Patient Project campaign director, Lisa McGiffert, speaks on a National Journal panel discussion on the effect of healthcare-associated infections on the quality and cost of healthcare delivery in the United States featuring Donald Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
A recent study on mdical device recalls by the National Research Center for Women & Families found the majority of recalled medical products were approved without testing. The FDA's 510(K) process that only requires medical devices be similar to another device on the market to be approved. Find the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine here.
President Obama mentions hospital infections and medical devices in his op ed re cutting red tape.
Letter to the editor by Robert E. Oshel: Congress should open the [National Practitioner] Data Bank so we can learn as much about the safety of our doctors as we can about our toasters.
Editorial: Preventable deaths They will continue until there is a national strategy to stop them
Catheter-related infections have been the focus of campaigns for prevention checklists. Data will go public this year.
Nearly 60% of Medicare stroke patients die or are rehospitalized within a year of their initial discharge, according to a study by UCLA.
A new study conducted from 2002 to 2007 in 10 North Carolina hospitals, found that harm to patients was common and that the number of incidents did not decrease over time. The most common problems were complications from procedures or drugs and hospital-acquired infections. Click here to view the study.
An ongoing Las Vegas Sun investigation paints a bleak portrait of hospital care in Southern Nevada. But according to a federal government study released Tuesday, the situation may be much worse.
New report shows that hospital patients are being harmed by medical errors at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, most Americans have no way of knowing whether their hospital is doing a good job preventing medical errors.
Septicemia, also known as a blood infection, is a condition that gets high reimbursement amounts from Medicare. This report analyzes data from Prime Hospitals and shows high rates of septicemia compared with other hospitals-more than three times the national average.
CDC's Brandi Limbago, PhD writes about the problem of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections caused by gram-negative bacteria that normally live in our intestines, and motivating healthcare providers to take the recommended steps towards prevention.
The Food and Drug Administration vowed Thursday to reverse the approval of a patch for injured knees that it granted in 2008 after being pressured by four New Jersey congressmen and its own commissioner. Read the FDA's report here.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that an orthopedic device used in the knee should not have been cleared for marketing in the United States. The announcement follows a re-evaluation of the scientific evidence that was undertaken after a September 2009 agency report identified problems in the agency’s review of the device.
The weight loss drug Meridia (sibutramine) has been removed from the market because it has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has picked health care infections as one of six priorities — winnable battles, he calls them.
Article about the surge in antipsychotic prescriptions and the aggressive marketing tactics that's fueled such growth.
Health reform prohibits state Medicaid and Children’s Insurance programs to contract with providers or suppliers that have been terminated by these programs in other states. Here is a list of providers who have been excluded from these programs.
An ongoing number of shortages of prescription meds is wreaking havoc among health care practitioners who work in hospitals and patients are at risk, yet little or no information is available from the FDA or drugmakers, according to a new survey.
The head of OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, said Thursday his agency will consider a petition seeking a limit of 80 work hours per week for medical residents and other rest and hours limits.
"Harrison Medical Center in 2009 had the highest central-line infection rate of any of Washington state’s 63 hospitals with intensive-care units. The Bremerton-based hospital also had the fourth-highest rate of pneumonia linked to the use of ventilators among the state’s 37 community hospitals, according to the Washington Department of Health (DOH)."
Parts 1 and 2 of an investigative series by the Las Vegas Sun of hospital safety. The articles focus on hospital infections and preventable injuries. They also explain the limited information available to consumers and why the state has failed to provide this information.
A new superbug that is making its way aroung the world has been discovered. "British researchers are being credited with the discovery of new bacteria with the gene allowing it to produce an enzyme called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1, or NDM-1." Two cases have been discovered in Canada.
The long overdue report is in response to a 2006 state law requiring reporting of central line bloodstream infections. and infections acquired after heart, colon and knee surgeries. A separate report details influenza vaccination rates among hospital staff.
FDA just issued a new alert regarding yet another supplement for weight loss.
FDA releases a new alert regarding yet another supplement for sexual dysfunction.
The New York Times finds that early diagnosis of breast cancer can be prone to error on whether the cells are benign or malignant, leading to unnecessary treatment and psychological distress.
Sepsis and septic shock appear to be more common than heart attacks or pulmonary blood clots among patients having general surgery, and the death rate for patients with septic shock is approximately 34 percent within 30 days of operation, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.
"More than a third of docs don't think they're responsible for reporting those who aren't fit to practice, according to the results just published in JAMA. And only 69 percent of the docs who knew about an impaired or incompetent colleague reported them."
A new study by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology reveals that many hospital infection control staff think hospital leadership are not doing all they should to reduce hospital acquired infections.
A recent study finds that deaths from medication errors increase by 10 percent during July, a so-called July effect as students graduate from medical school and enter residency programs.
FDA social media guidelines for regulating online drug ads to be broken up into multiple documents
Drug company funded medical studies often skew the truth about drugs, putting patient safety at risk.
Major drug company is resisting investigation by Congress and FDA for the recent recall of children's Tylenol and pediatric medications.
A new study shows infection prevention lapses in ambulatory surgical centers, including safe hygiene methods and improper handling of medications and equipment.
Hospital Annual Revenue per Doctor by Specialty
A new study finds medication error rates spike 10 percent in the month of July.
Some drug companies are using Twitter to promote their products and overplay the benefits versus the risks. The FDA is now asking drug companies and other interested parties to submit opinions on how it might regulate the promotion of products using social media and the Internet.
"While there are no figures available for New Jersey, if the numbers were extrapolated on the basis of its population of 8.7 million, infections would have caused the death of about 2,800 patients in the state's hospitals last year. Another 50,000 patients would have contracted infections, again extrapolating from the estimated 1.7 million hospital-acquired infections nationally."
This Community Catalyst blog discusses the Physician Payments Sunshine Act passed in the health care reform legislation. It creates a national public website where drug and device companies will report payments and gifts to doctors. Consumers will be able to search the site.
The new health care law contains dozens of provisions, including fining hospitals, to reduce medical errors, hospital-borne infections and costly preventable readmissions.
From the Consumer Reports AdWatch team
Our Safe Patient Project Campaign Director Lisa McGiffert wrote a guest blog for Consumer Reports Health on a new government report that found a rise in most hospital infections.
"Despite a renewed focus on prevention and threats of governmental sanctions, hospitals continue to see increased rates of post-operative bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported."
"Nebraska health officials have admitted that 23-month-old Almariah Duque may have died from an overdose of the blood-thinner heparin, raising more questions about the use of the drug on infants."
Public Citizen’s 2010 annual ranking of state medical boards shows that most states, including one of the largest, are not living up to their obligations to protect patients from doctors who are practicing substandard medicine, according to the report released today.
Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project mentioned in Kaiser Health News.
"When a car breaks, a computer fails or a toaster flames out, the manufacturer is often liable under the product warranty. But that is not how the multibillion-dollar orthopedics industry tends to work, according to doctors, industry experts and three of the biggest device makers. "
A 23 month old died from an overdose of blood thinner while in the hospital to be treated for an infection.
More reforms are needed to protect patients from preventable medical harm, but the new health reform law creates a solid foundation that will help ensure that the health care we are paying for is safe.
Drug company giant reveals the amount it paid to doctors and hospitals during the second half of last year. The health overhaul passed recently requires disclosures of certain physician payments starting in 2013.
How we can save billions by cutting out unnecessary procedures that kill tens of thousands a year.
"There's no national tally of physicians who abuse their patients, but some say better reporting by hospitals and doctors and state medical boards would help. There is a database, which was established in 1986, but it also includes malpractice decisions and the information is not available to the public."
Many patients report experiencing bad side effects taking BONIVA, including broken bones, which BONIVA drug marketers claim it prevents.
"Drug and device companies will soon have to report payments to physicians in a national database, thanks to a little noted section of the health care reform bill called the Physician Payments Sunshine Act."
Patient Safety Advocates Launch Campaign to Reduce Resident Physician Fatigue, Boost Patient Safety
The federal government can't thoroughly detect medical errors in hospitals without employing physicians or other clinicians like gumshoes, according to a recent federal study.
Merrill Goozner points out another little-noticed provision in the bill: "Drug and device companies will soon have to report payments to physicians in a national database, thanks to a little noted section of the health care reform bill called the Physician Payments Sunshine Act."
Americans have more information about the safety of their cars than about the hospitals that treat them at their most vulnerable moments.
Health Care For All has created an informative website, www.assertivepatient.org, to assist patients on how to navigate the complaint process when something goes wrong at the hospital.
Interview with Dr. Peter Pronovost, medical director of the Quality and Safety Research Group at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and promoter of a patient safety checklist for doctors.
AstraZeneca has been linked to the deaths of soldiers returning from war.
ProPublica reporters Charles Ornstein and Tracey Weber have put together a very useful tool for tracking nurses performance. The chart shows, "which states allow you to verify a nurse’s license for free online, which provide Web access to disciplinary documents, and which participate in a publicly available national database. "
Patty Skolnik, Founder of Citizens for Patient Safety, makes CNN's "Intriguing people" feature. Patty was a speaker on CU's consumer panel on medical harm at our "To Err Is Human, To Delay Is Deadly" forum in DC. She is a lead advocate in Colorado and nationally on patient safety and doctor accountability issues.
Review of Dr. Peter Pronovost's new book on challenging a "toxic" medical culture that doesn't crack down on medical errors.
A federal database of disciplinary actions taken against health professionals is missing numerous serious disciplinary records.
The National Naval Medical Center has opened a review of the surgical care provided to the late Congressman John Murtha after the Pennsylvania Democrat died following surgery, a senior U.S. military official told CNN Wednesday.
A recent report compiled by Consumers Union comparing infection rates reported by hospitals in 2008 showed that Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx had 44% fewer infections than the national average.
Dallas-based Methodist Health System had two hospitals with bloodstream infection rates double the national average, according to a Consumer Reports study.
The Consumer Reports Hospital Ratings study, released Tuesday, says North General Hospital's so-called central line infection rate was 394% worse than the national average - and the worst in the city.
Hosted by the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) sponsored this webinar where speakers presented on Tennessee's infection reporting system and using the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
KY physician Kevin Kavenaugh makes a case for keeping the provisions in the health care reform bills that relate to public reporting of hospital acquired conditions and to Medicaid adopting Medicare rules on nonpayment of hospital acquired conditions.
Medically Injured Trauma Support Services (MITSS) honors Patty Skolnik for her work on patients safety through the organization she founded- Colorado Citizens for Accountability.
FDA Urged to Maintain Strict Risk-Disclosure Rules for Web 2.0
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, reports that wrong-site, wrong-side and wrong-patient procedures occur more than 40 times each week in the United States.
The FDA is holding a meeting this week to get input on “making policy decisions on the promotion” of drugs and medical devices on “the Internet and social media tools. PhRMA, the drug industry trade group, recommends that FDA adopt some kind of standardized online warning language, such as “All drugs have risks. Click here for more information from the manufacturer.”
A new documentary film, "Money-Driven Medicine", tackles the economic underpinnings of an American healthcare system that kills four times as many people through medical error and preventable infections as die in highway accident. Consumers Union has encouraged activists to view this film and take action to make our health care system safer.
“Money-Driven Medicine” examines the medical industrial complex, and what’s wrong with our healthcare system. Watch the movie for free here until November 10 and sign our petition for reform.
When you are very sick, you go to the hospital to get better. But what if the hospital you choose actually makes you sicker, or even kills you? Watch patient safety activist and former actress, Alicia Cole, tell her story about getting a serious hospital-acquired infection that changed her life forever.
For decades, the U.S. health care system has paid doctors and hospitals by the services performed, even if those services harmed the patient. Beginning in October 2008, Medicare will no longer pay for some major hospital mistakes.
Josie King, an 18 month old went to the hospital for burns from hot bath water and later died in the hospital from dehydration and medical error.
"The American hospital, the center of health care, is a cottage industry in the post-industrial world, and we can save billions of dollars by bringing them into the modern world."- Clare Crawford Mason.
Eli Lilly & Co. paid doctors in South Carolina for participating in a speakers’ program in exchange for prescribing the antipsychotic Zyprexa.
Nancy Metcalf, Consumer Reports said: "We surveyed more than 700 nurses nationwide who work in operating rooms, emergency rooms, critical care units and other areas of the hospital."
the savings associated with preventing MRSA infection amounted to $1.8 million a year according to Lance Peterson, MD, of NorthShore Health System in Evanston, Ill.
A determined breed of patient-safety advocates have forged their personal pain into a dedication to improving medical safety.
This report is an overview of the national hand hygiene campaigns, but also regional activities, implemented in Europe since 2000.
Bob Wachter writes: "I remain enthusiastic about 'no pay for preventable adverse events' as a clever way to use payment policy to goose the system into focusing on patient safety prevention practices. But for 'no pay...' to make a difference, there must be evidence-based prevention strategies to implement."
When Alicia Cole learned she needed surgery for benign fibroids, she did her homework on the surgeon and the hospital. "I looked at HealthGrades, Leapfrog, Hospital Compare, and other Web sites," says Cole, a 46-year-old actress from Sherman Oaks, Calif. "But one thing I didn't check was the hospital's infection rate."
View statement and signatures of patent safety advocates concerning healthcare reform.
A law passed in 2007 requires Delaware hospitals to report healthcare-acquired infections to the federal National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Nineteen other states also require hospitals to report infections.
Money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will pay $1 million for infection control in ambulatory surgical centers in Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, Arkansas, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Kansas.
Op-ed by Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. The Obama administration should take a lesson from the transportation safety board’s successes and establish an independent agency charged with identifying and eliminating the causes of medical error.
Five organizations representing the nation’s experts in infectious diseases medicine, infection prevention in healthcare settings, and public health and disease prevention announced their support for a provision requiring national reporting of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates, which is contained within the healthcare reform bill introduced by leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-12) held a press conference announcing her bill (HR2937) to screen for and prevent MRSA infections in hospitals.
According to the report, New York hospitals have lower rates of surgical-site infections than hospitals across the rest of the nation, but the same or higher rates of bloodstream infections in intensive care units than those reported nationally.
The UAE offers to help war wounded but must stop infection outbreaks: "High on the list of priorities was identifying and isolating the source of infection; this was done, says the report, by taking wound and nasal swabs from all admitted patients and hand and nasal swabs from all staff who came into contact with them."
Many hospitals cut back on infection-control efforts, which will hurt patients and cost hospitals money.
Public Citizen's report on ineffective hospital peer review (and under-reporting bad doctors to the National Practitioner Data Bank) made ABC World News on Sunday evening, June 21st. Doctors who perform medical errors are not always reported, and hospitals are not penalized for failing to report bad doctors.
Spot inspections at three Veterans Administration hospitals last month revealed that instruments used in colonoscopies and endoscopies were not properly disinfected, potentially exposing veterans to HIV and hepatitis.
Hospital-acquired infections can be reduced significantly or even eliminated with sound prevention procedures.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the drugmaker Wyeth, holding that pharmaceutical companies can be held liable for harm from medicines that carry warnings approved by federal regulators.
Database compares incidents in S.C. hospitals to national averages
Each year Americans are spending more on health care – about $2.4 trillion last year, more per capita than any other nation – but we’re not getting much better for the money. Consumers Union supports stopping the wasteful use of our health care dollars by committing to an independent, adequately funded national research program that uses the most rigorous, open and fair scientific methods to compare the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments.
The infection rate has recently doubled in both frequency and fatalities, both in Illinois and nationally, to half a million cases annually nationwide, and 300 deaths a day, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Though c. difficile infections are not tracked nationally or at the state level in Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama, a new study shows that the incidence is higher than expected.
Healthcare groups yesterday endorsed recommendations in a campaign to intensify hospitals' efforts to prevent infections that contribute to an estimated 99,000 patient deaths a year in the United States.
MRSA is killing more people in the United States each year than the AIDS virus.
New dress code for all National Health Services UK staff
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 20-hospital study showed that monitoring institutional water systems can help predict the risk of hospital-acquired Legionella pneumonia, better known as Legionnaires' disease.
Report on the results of the first nationwide study on the prevalence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in U.S to be released.
MRSA is getting a lot of attention nationally because of its increasing prevalence and virulence.
Listen to the NPR Morning Edition story on how an increasing number of states are passing hospital infection report laws and read an interview with Dr. Rick Shannon of the Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh about how hospitals can prevent infections.
A new, more dangerous strain of a germ that has long caused diarrhea in hospital patients is now widespread in the United States, causing severe, sometimes deadly outbreaks around the country, researchers reported yesterday.
Infections that have been nearly eradicated in some other countries are raging through hospitals here in the United States. The major reason? Poor hygiene. In fact, hygiene is so inadequate in most American hospitals that one out of every 20 patients contracts an infection during a hospital stay.
Ivanhoe Broadcast News, a national TV syndicator of health related news, has an excellent 3-part series on hospital infections. The series is being broadcast in approximately 100 stations throughout the month of May 2004. Part 3 of the series, “The Right to Know,” includes an interview with Earl Lui of Consumers Union. Click here to get the text of the entire series.
The United States Senate is on the verge of approving legislation that could decrease the quality of hospital care in New York and elsewhere around the country. It needs to take a moment to be sure it doesn't. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act allows hospitals to shield medical error data from public scrutiny. It adopts a popular and plausible theory that holds that doctors will own up to mistakes, thereby improving the practice of medicine, if they feel they are not sacrificing their careers. But the bill may have other, more insidious effects, if critics such as Consumers Union are correct.
Users of WhyNotTheBest.org can now search for and compare data for nearly 1,000 hospitals on the incidence of central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs)—one of the most lethal hospital-acquired complications. The data show wide variation in CLABSI incidence, in spite of strong evidence on how to prevent them. The updated data is made possible through a partnership among The Commonwealth Fund, The Leapfrog Group, and Consumers Union.
Health and Human Services Administration (HRSA) letter responding to Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project, regarding its decision to remove the National Practitioner Data Bank Public Use File on September 1, 2011. Consumers Union's letter to HRSA can be read here.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today asked the head of a federal agency to explain a decision to shut down public access to data on malpractice payouts, hospital discipline and regulatory sanctions against doctors and other health professionals
Letter from six national journalism organizations to Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius elevating their concerns about a decision by the Health Resources and Services Administration to remove the Public Use File of the National Practitioner Data Bank from the agency's website.
Investigative Reporters and Editors post National Practitioner Data Bank public use file (available for download) on physicians that was removed by the federal government last week.
TN Hospital Association’s Center for Patient Safety Report indicates reduction of hospital-acquired infections in 2010.
Here is their claim:
Hospitals working in tandem with the Tennessee Center for Patient Safety reported an improvement of 36 percent in central line infections between 2008 and the end of 2010.
Central line infections among neonatal or infant patients were reduced 46 percent over the same time period.
The incidence of hospital onset Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, widely known as MRSA, dropped 21 percent from 2008 through 2010.
The rate of complication after surgery improved between 15 percent and 60 percent in five critical areas at 10 hospitals participating in the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program pilot project promoted by the Tennessee Center for Patient Safety.
Partnering to Heal is a computer-based, video-simulation training program on infection control practices for clinicians, health professional students, and patient advocates.
Past and future webinars on patient safety.
The number of people treated in U.S. hospitals for illnesses and injuries from taking medicines jumped 52 percent between 2004 and 2008 – from 1.2 million to 1.9 million – according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. These medication side effects and injuries resulted from taking or being given the wrong medicine or dosage.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services description of its new patient safety initiative.
Public Citizen reviewed the National Practitioner Data Bank Public. They found that physicians who had violations recorded in the Data Bank escaped any state licensing action.
State by state summary report on central line associated bloodstream infections
A new report issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a significant decrease in certain infections over the past nine years. The report found that central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) occurring in hospital intensive care units dropped by 58 percent between 2001 and 2009.
Health Watch USA literature review on the prevention of MRSA including surveillance cultures.
An estimated 134,000 Medicare beneficiaries (13.5 percent) experienced at least 1 adverse event in hospitals during the 1-month study period.
The GAO has written a report on the FDA's progress on foreign drug inspections since 2008. In 2008, the GAO found that FDA had inspected relatively few foreign establishments and had inaccurate information in its databases from 2002 through 2007.
Article about the common errors (including infection) that occur in dialysis units.
Review of QIO complaint responses to Medicare beneficiaries who report quality-of-care problems.
A committee was convened to assess the regulatory clearance process for certain medical devices held a workshop to glean insights and data from a range of invited experts. The information presented at the workshop and summarized in this report will help inform the committee's ongoing deliberations. This summary does not contain reactions or statements by members of the study committee, whose findings and recommendations will be recorded in a report to be publicly released in 2011.
Search through the OIG's database to identify individuals or entities who have been excluded from participating in Federally-funded health care programs.
ISMP survey: More than 1,000 near misses, errors, and adverse outcomes due to drug shortages in the US.
Over a 2-year period, roughly one-quarter of all hospital patients were readmitted for the same conditions that prompted their initial hospitalization, according to the latest data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
"Whereas previous appeals to limit resident physicians’ work hours have focused on the well-documented risks patients face due to tired physicians, this petition concentrates on the often-overlooked health risks faced by the resident physicians who endure those long hours."
Chart that shows how many serious disciplinary actions against registered nurses each state reported to a federal database over the past ten years.
The magnetic field of the MRI scanner may exert forces on certain implanted objects that are susceptible to the effects of the magnetic field, potentially causing the object to move within the body, which could result in serious harm. Learn how you can help protect yourself.
Know what steps you can take to prevent a wrong-site surgery from happening to you or a loved one.
Patient injury reports indicate that it is important to use radiopaque sponges during any IR procedure in order to prevent the retention of foreign objects following IR procedures.
In 2008, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority received approximately 150 reports describing events in which the magnetic resonance (MR) clinical screening process was inadequate and, in some cases, erroneously permitted patients with implanted pacemakers and other ferromagnetic objects into the MRI scanner room.
Nearly 1,000 event reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority specifically mentioned medication errors that occurred in care areas providing radiologic services.
Reported patient deaths increased by 14% in 2009 from adverse drug events.
FDA warning letters and untitled letters to drug companies for marketing and communications violations.
ISMP QuarterWatch (Quarter 4 and 2009 totals) - Reported patient deaths increased by 14% in 2009. QuarterWatch is an ISMP program used to monitor adverse drug events (ADEs) in the US. During the most recent period of monitoring, ISMP analyzed 116,174 serious, disabling, and fatal ADEs reported to FDA during 2009. A 2.8-fold increase in reports has been observed since 2000. The volume of reports from health professionals has been relatively stable since 2004, while consumer reports have risen steadily since 2000.
Veterans Health Administration five-year plan to reduce MRSA infections in VA hospitals.
Health Watch USA has obtained VA results of hospital acquired infection rates for MRSA.
Data was collected while patients were treated under VHA Directive 2007-002 which mandated universal active surveillance/screening of all patients admitted to the VA Hospital (except psychiatric units), contact precautions and hand hygiene.
CDC report on national and state data related to central line-associated bloodstream infections. For more information, click here.
Plans about what the states are supposed to be doing to eliminate hospital acquired infections.
90 Michigan hospitals sustain low bloodstream infections using the checklist.
New FDA website allows for reporting of misleading drug ads.
Link to map that highlights antimicrobial resistance issues at the state level.
Mandatory reporting of healthcare-acquired infections began in Pennsylvania nursing homes in June 2009 and this report is based on preliminary data from July-September 2009. The Authority is not yet releasing the data by facility.
Patient safety and healthcare-associated infections deserve "urgent attention," according to the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report. Published by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the report calls the country's healthcare quality "suboptimal" and says "the gap between the best possible care and that which is routinely delivered remains substantial" across the country.
The Hearst Newspapers have created a color coded map of state reporting systems for medical errors. States collect a variety of data in different ways. The amount of information available to the public also differs from state to state.
OIG report on the sad state of medical error reporting.
Each state has a different process for investigating and disciplining nurses and for making licensing information available to the public. ProPublica compiled a chart to show which states allow you to verify a nurse’s license for free online, which provide Web access to disciplinary documents, and which participate in a publicly available national database.
A new report on state and federal nonpayment policies for preventable hospital acquired conditions and events that harm patients.
Public Citizen: The U.S. Health and Human Services has failed to issue a final regulation to implement a 22 year old law (called Section 1921 of the Social Security Act) that would expand the National Practitioner Data Bank and allow over 5,000 hospitals and about 700 nursing homes access to disciplinary records on nurses and other allied health professionals.
Advice for preventing infection at an ambulatory facility.
Are you a student? Learn how to protect yourself from MRSA by using this printable pocket guide prepared by Nile's Project.
Printable pocket guide prepared by Nile's Project.
Informational flier prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Twenty-six states have enacted some form of reporting law, requiring hospitals, and sometimes other health care facilities, to submit infection data to the state or the Centers for Disease Control, and release this information to the public on the Internet.
According to the CDC, the overall annual direct medical costs of hospital acquired infections to U.S. hospitals ranges from $28.4 to $33.8 billion.
On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-171) (DRA) which contained language creating a system for quality adjustment of Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services. The law required the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify at least two hospital-acquired conditions which could have reasonably been avoided through the application of evidence based guidelines and would be subject to the adjustment in payment.
Following last year’s GAO report on the federal response to hospital-acquired infections, the US Department of Health and Human Services has produced a “National Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections.” The federal agency is seeking public comments on the Plan, due 2/6/09.
The GAO determined the scope and collection of available data limited the agencies ability to determine a national estimate of hospital associated infecdtions related to medical devices. However, experts report medical staff practices as a significant factor.
This report is a summary of hospital associated infection data collected by NHSN from 2006-2007. Data was collected on device and procedure associated infections reported by participating hospitals. No individual hospitals are identified.
New national study finds prevalence of C. difficile infections in hospitals 6.5 to 20 times higher than previous studies. Most are identified as health care acquired, indicating hospitals and nursing homes need to do more to stop the spread of these infections. Consumers Union's policy brief (PDF)explains the problem.
About three of every 100 operations performed in the United States are complicated by surgical site infections (Gaynes et al. 2001).
Study reveals overwhelming majority of MRSA infections are acquired in hospitals and health care settings.
The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project reports on the rise in antibiotic-resistant MRSA infection in hospitals.
The antibiotic-resistant bacteria is found in all wards throughout most hospitals. The study is the first nationwide analysis on the prevalence of MRSA in U.S. healthcare facilities.
Many state and national initiatives are underway to mandate or induce health care organizations to publicly disclose information regarding institutional and physician performance.
The problem of antibiotic resistance in treating hospital-acquired infections from the National of Allergy and Infectious Diseases discusses
After careful consideration the CMS along with the JCAHO have agreed to temporarily suspend public reporting of hospital performance on appropriate antibiotic selection for surgical prophylaxis. CMS and JCAHO will continue to collect data on antibiotic selection for surgical prophylaxis during the temporary suspension but will not publicly report performance on this measure on Hospital Compare.
The NQF, a coalition of medical groups, employers, consumer groups and others, this year released practice standards to reduce hospital infection and other quality of care problems.
The Empowered Patient Coalition is a consumer and advocate-led effort to inform, engage and empower the public to assume a greater role in their own medical treatment and in becoming a driving force for meaningful health care reform.
The coalition was formed by advocates Helen Haskell and Julia Hallisy who share the same great loss of a child, similar patient safety goals and a clear vision of a health care system that is safe, effective, transparent and patient-centered.
Our goal is to partner with individuals, other advocates and consumer organizations to give the public a stronger voice in all health decisions. We strive to enable a new level of collaboration by facilitating the sharing of ideas and resources among all coalition members and participants and encourage the formation of powerful partnerships within the group that will lead to policy changes and quality health care for all.
http://www.empoweredpatientcoalition.org/home
Contact: info@EmpoweredPatientCoalition.org
Select your state from an interactive map to find out what physician background reporting is available in your state. Knowing the background information on your doctor could your life.
http://www.patientsrighttoknow.org/
Mothers Against Medical Error (MAME) is a South Carolina-based group that works with medical error victims, healthcare professionals, and legislators to promote its mission of providing support to victims of medical harm; educating policymakers and the public about patient safety issues; and advocating for improvements in healthcare policy. Areas in which MAME has been active include medical education reform, hospital infection reporting, in-hospital patient support systems, and disclosure of medical error.
Contact: Helen Haskell mamemoms@gmail.com
http://www.mamemomsonline.org/
More than 290,000 surgical site infections occur in U.S. hospitals each year. Patients who acquire infections from surgery spend, on average, an additional 6.5 days in the hospital, are five times more likely to be readmitted after discharge, and twice as likely to die.
Surgery patients are at risk for infection because surgical incisions create a pathway for germs to enter the body. Maintaining a sterile environment in the operating room is therefore critical to protect patients from being contaminated with bacteria, which can lead to infection.
How well is your hospital, state and the nation as a whole are performing on three key practices that help prevent infections during surgery? Find out here »
In 2008, my Dad was in a local hospital where he was given a sulfa medication, despite the fact that he was wearing a red wrist band warning about his well-documented life-threatening sulfa allergy, and despite that many medical references do not support this off-label use of the drug in my Dad's medical condition. Furthermore, without an emergency, the doctor and the nurses never informed my Dad or me (his medical power of attorney at the hospital 24/7) about the drug being a sulfa drug, or any of its risks. We even repeatedly asked the doctor about the drug risks before its administration. Yet the doctor withheld all this critical drug information, and lied about the drug risks (which turned out to be significant to my Dad). We later learned that there was also a plan to monitor my Dad after the first dose to watch for an anaphylactic drug reaction. But no one told us anything about this monitoring plan, even after my Dad showed signs of a serious drug reaction.
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My family experienced a surgical error in 2007. We filed a complaint with the state department of public health over this incident. In the single issue of exposing an IgE latex allergic patient to a medical device containing latex, it should have been very easy for DPH to find that the surgeon and hospital provided our daughter with negligent care. The device was clearly labeled as containing latex, the hospital and surgeon identified our daughter, Kelly, as a latex allergic patient before surgery, standard of care at the hospital was the strict avoidance of all latex products in an surgical/medical procedure for an identified latex allergic patient, and the Informed Consent for this procedure does not give the hospital or surgeon permission to treat our daughter with a medical device containing latex.
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Beginning in 1994, my wife Betty LeBlanc was misdiagnosed for more than four years with fibromyalgia. Because we have no approved accurate laboratory test for Lyme disease my wife and thousands like her have been and continue to be misdiagnosed.
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In 2001, Patty and David Skolnik spent nearly three years watching their only child, Michael, play victim to a broken system as a result of unnecessary brain surgery. Due to medical error caused by negligence and incompetence, routine expectations of our healthcare system proved ineffective in providing quality medical care and patient safety for 22 year old Michael Skolnik.
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Dr. Hallisy is committed to and passionate about the subjects of patient safety, health care reform and medical error reduction. Her personal and professional goals include working diligently to help give patients a voice in healthcare solutions.
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