The Safe Patient Project is a Consumers Union campaign focused on eliminating medical harm, improving FDA oversight of prescription drugs and promoting disclosure laws that give information to consumers about health care safety and quality.
National
This geographic signifier gathers content together on our site which is regarded as having national significance. That includes items at the federal level.
Blog Posts
- Study says Medicare Part D premiums to jump 87%
The Washington Post reported today on a new study suggesting premiums for Medicare prescription drug plans will rise by a whopping 87% next year. The report by Families USA, a national health consumer group, also says fewer states will have plans offering full coverage for most drugs needed by seniors.
- Survey finds close ties between drug companies and patient groups
The New Scientist’s recent survey describes how some patient groups get substantial funding from drug companies.
- Former FDA chief pleads guilty to conflict of interest charges
Former FDA chief, Lester Crawford, who resigned after 2 months on the job, has plead guilty of charges of conflict of interest and lying about stock he and his wife owned in companies the FDA regulates.
News Articles
- Study finds FDA's less stringent medical device approval process faulty
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.
- Toward a 21st-Century Regulatory System Source: Wall Street Journal (Tuesday January 18, 2011)
President Obama mentions hospital infections and medical devices in his op ed re cutting red tape.
- Consumers deserve to know more about their health-care providers Source: Washington Post (Thursday January 13, 2011)
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.
- Harm in Hospitals Source: Hartford Courant (Monday January 10, 2011)
Editorial: Preventable deaths They will continue until there is a national strategy to stop them
- CMS requires hospitals to report bloodstream infections in ICUs Source: American Medical News (Monday January 10, 2011)
Catheter-related infections have been the focus of campaigns for prevention checklists. Data will go public this year.
- Most Elderly Stroke Patients Fare Poorly After Hospital Discharge Source: National Nursing News (Monday December 20, 2010)
Nearly 60% of Medicare stroke patients die or are rehospitalized within a year of their initial discharge, according to a study by UCLA.
- Study Finds No Progress in Safety at Hospitals Source: New York Times (Wednesday November 24, 2010)
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.
- Study: Patients suffering harm in hospitals a national problem Source: Las Vegas Sun (Wednesday November 17, 2010)
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.
- Errors kill 15,000 aged US patients a month-study Source: Reuters (Tuesday November 16, 2010)
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.
- SEIU report questions Prime Hospitals high septicemia rates
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.
Research and Reports
- Veterans Health Administration 2010 MRSA Study (PDF)
Health Watch USA has obtained VA results of hospital acquired infection rates for MRSA.
- Veterans Health Administration MRSA Initiative January 2007 (PDF)
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.
- The First State-Specific HAI Summary Data Report January-June, 2009 (PDF)
CDC report on national and state data related to central line-associated bloodstream infections. For more information, click here.
- State Plans to Address Healthcare-Associated Infections
Plans about what the states are supposed to be doing to eliminate hospital acquired infections.
- Sustaining reductions in catheter related bloodstream infections in Michigan intensive care units: observational study
90 Michigan hospitals sustain low bloodstream infections using the checklist.
- Truthful Prescription Drug Advertising and Promotion (Bad Ad Program)
New FDA website allows for reporting of misleading drug ads.
- Antimicrobial Resistance State Fact Sheets Map
Link to map that highlights antimicrobial resistance issues at the state level.
- Clostridium Difficile Infections in Pennsylvania Nursing Homes
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.
- 2009 National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports
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.
- Medical Errors State Reporting (Map)
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.