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.
CaliforniaStopping the occurrence of medical harm
Testimony of Carole Moss to the Oversight Hearing on October 20, 2010 to California Department of Public Health concerning Implementation of Hospital Patient Safety Legislation.
Testimony of Elizabeth M. Imholz, Special Projects Director; Consumers Union before California Senate Health Committee; October 20, 2010
Consumers Union Report shows California Department of Public Health is falling behind on collecting and publishing dangerously low vaccination rates to the public.
The Medical Board regulation requiring physicians to have a notice for patients with the Medical Board contact information has been approved. It goes into effect on June 27th. Medical Board of California (April 2010)
CU sent a letter to Kathleen Billingsley at the Department of Health Care Services following our meeting on December 16 regarding state implementation of the hospital-acquired infection and adverse event reporting laws. Consumers Union (December 28, 2009)
CU filed a Public Records request for documents related to adverse events and hospital acquired infections made available to the public through legislation passed since 2006. Consumers Union (February 16, 2010)
March 9, 2010 (Consumers Union)
Consumers Union writes in support of the Board of Podiatric Medicine’s (BPM) adoption of proposed section 1399.730, Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations. This proposal requires doctors of podiatric medicine (DPMs) to notify their patients that they are licensed by the State of California, and provides the Board’s
SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued its annual report today detailing patient infection rates at hospitals across the state. The report publishes the rates for a wide variety of infections at California hospitals and helps to establish California as a leader among states for disclosing such patient safety data, according to Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project.
California Hospital Association’s Suit Seeks to Undermine Effort to Make Surgical Infection Data Available to the Public.
Report Shows Infections Are Preventable But More Effort Is Needed To Protect Patients.
The reports provide a first glimpse at Hospital Infection Rates. Consumers Union press release recommending the state work harder to ensure the data is accurate and provided in a format consumers can easily view and understand.
The California Department of Public Health has been slow to implement a number of key provisions of medical error public reporting.
Report Finds That Only Half of California Hospital Workers Got Flu Vaccine
Patient Safety Groups Support Efforts Under Health Care Reform to Disclose Infection Rates and Tie Payments to Performance
California Department of Public Health Has Failed to Carry Out Key Requirements of Recent Patient Safety Laws
New Pennsylvania study shows 8 percent drop in hospital acquired infections between 2006 and 2007.
A report by the California Department of Public Health, makes California a national leader on public reporting of infections.
Meet the eleven consumer advocates who will be attending a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)hospital infection meeting this week.
Last week, California hospitals lost their bid to avoid reporting their infection rates to the public. A California judge upheld a 2008 state law – one of the strongest in the nation – that calls on hospitals to report infections occurring from a broad array of surgeries.
It only takes three things for a hospital superbug to infect a patient. Should you be concerned?
On Saturday, October 9, the Empowered Patient Coalition along with Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project and AARP California will be holding a special training in San Diego for patients and caregivers on how to stay safe in the hospital.
It’s the start of flu season and you might be worried about the spread of germs. We’re worried too. Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project released a report today that found nearly half of all hospital workers in California didn’t get flu shots during the 2008-2009 flu season.
Soon it will be easier for you to find out how well your hospital prevents certain infections. As part of the new health care reform law, the Department of Health and Human Services will require hospitals to publicly disclose several types of dangerous hospital infections.
A bill in California (SB 1390) would create a minimum of 12-point font for the most crucial information on medication labels and would require translation of medication label information into commonly used non-English languages.
Since 2006, California lawmakers have passed laws to improve patient safety, yet the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has been moving at turtle speed to enforce these laws.
Guest blog post written by Syed Sayeed, Policy Analyst at Consumers Union’s West Coast Office. CU is calling on California residents to submit comments to the Pharmacy Board by March 10th, in support of requiring all pharmacies to print important label information in at least a 12-point font size.
Article by Lenore Alexander, active member of Mothers Against Medical Errors, about her 11-year-old daughter Leah’s tragic death from hospital errors, including lack of monitoring. Since Leah’s death nearly 10 years ago, her mother has continued to ask many questions and learn why this happened to her daughter so that other lives can be saved.
At least five patients have died since 2009 after Lap-Band procedures at clinics in Beverly Hills and West Hills that are affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing campaign, according to autopsy reports, lawsuits and other public records.
California’s recent public reports on central-line associated hospital infections reflect rates nearly 50 percent lower than the national average, but the latest reports might reveal only half or more of infections cropping up in California. That is why validation of data is essential to getting accurate information out to the public, said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project.
The California Department of Health released its second year of data on hospital acquired infections. CU praised state regulators for posting a broad range of infection data and a consumer friendly surgical infection interactive map that will include more data over time.
The California Department of Public Health announced it was imposing $850,000 in fines on 14 hospitals for medical errors that caused or were likely to cause serious patient injury or death.
Another 14 California hospitals have been ordered to pay fines totaling $850,000 in the latest round of medical errors involving immediate jeopardy to patients, state health officials said last week.
Cal Hospital Compare, which gives the public quality scorecards of CA hospitals, may not continue because the California Hospital Association is backing out of the project.
4-year-old dies during dental surgery and his family is searching for answers to find out what led to his death.
Stanford University’s clinics and hospitals have reduced annual liability premiums by $3.2 million since it implemented a program to disclose and investigate adverse event reports, according to a report published by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, American Medical News reports.
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center has failed to keep its operating rooms clean and safe and to protect its patients from possible infection, according to federal inspection reports recently released to The Times.
California Department of Public Health: 60.4% of California healthcare workers got vaccinated during the 2010-2011 flu season.
Report by the Center for Healthcare Decisions describes consumer perceptions of health care quality and provides new insights for those involved in public reporting.
California HealthCare Foundation articles on hospital-acquired infections.
Link to find out about the CA medical board meetings, agendas, and webcasts of past quarterly meetings.
“The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced today that 12 California hospitals have been assessed 14 administrative penalties after a determination that the facilities’ noncompliance with licensing requirements has caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.”
End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Dialysis Facility Survey reports for California for 2010.
The California Department of Public Health reports findings revealed in Consumers Union’s report that only about half of California healthcare workers got vaccinated during the 2008-2009 flu season.
Graphic of some of the adverse events reported by California hospitals over the past two fiscal years.
Many state medical board websites are not consumer-friendly, and it can be confusing or impossible to find information about a doctor’s disciplinary, criminal or malpractice history. In response, journalist William Heisel has created a Google map of “doctors behaving badly” with links to bad doctor new articles.
Steps you can take if you are concerned about your care under a CA physician.