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.
C. diff
Targeted screening can reduce spread of C. diff infection
New study published in the May issue of American Journal of Infection Control finds testing patients with 3 risk factors when they’re admitted could help hospitals reduce spread of C.diff infection.
Categories: C. diff, Hospital Acquired Infections
Tags: C. diff, C.diff screening, infection control
“It’s not just statistics…it’s somebody’s Mom”
Hospital infections leave a lasting impact on the individuals and families who had to experience them. For Mary Brennan-Taylor, hospital infections took the life of her mother, Alice Brennan, who passed away in 2009 after entering the hospital for pain and swelling in her leg.
Categories: C. diff, Hospital Acquired Infections, MRSA
Tags: C. diff, video, VRE
Recall Announcement Affects Consumers Union Employee
Medical recalls can indicate potential risk of serious injury or death to patients, but they often go unnoticed.
Categories: Medical Devices & Drugs
Tags: C. diff, CDC, FDA, medical device, Patient Safety Day, recall, video
Beware of Scary Superbugs in Your Hospital
It only takes three things for a hospital superbug to infect a patient. Should you be concerned?
Categories: MRSA
Tags: C. diff, CDC, medicare part d
Victory for patients! Public reporting of certain infections will go nationwide
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.
Categories: Hospital Acquired Infections, MRSA
Tags: C. diff, HHS, ICU, medicare part d, public reporting, surgical site infection
Patient safety activists hold “conversation” with CDC
On June 16, Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project and 11 patient safety advocates from 10 states attended the first “Consumer Conversation on Healthcare-Associated Infections” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
Categories: Hospital Acquired Infections, MRSA
Tags: C. diff, CDC, patient safety activists, Patient Safety Day, public reporting, surgical site infection
Let’s talk about labels
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.
Categories: Medical Devices & Drugs
Tags: C. diff, ICU, medication labels, Patient Safety Day, Pharma
California Pharmacy Board Should Support Safer Medication Labels
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.
Categories: Medical Devices & Drugs
Tags: C. diff, CDC, ICU, medicare part d, medication labels, Pharma
MRSA at the Beach
What if a fun trip to the beach meant you’d be exposed to MRSA? As recently reported by USA TODAY, researchers have identified this antibiotic-resistant MRSA superbug on five beaches in Washington State.
Categories: Hospital Acquired Infections, MRSA
Tags: C. diff, CDC, public reporting
Activists speak out at Presidential health care forum
Your stories matter. We are listening—and we’re getting those at the highest levels of government to listen, too.
Categories: Hospital Acquired Infections, MRSA
Tags: C. diff, medicare part d, patient safety activists, video
