Consumers Union Documents
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CU testifies at Senate hearing about California’s lax enforcement of patient safety laws (October 20, 2010)
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Testimony of Elizabeth M. Imholz, Consumers Union Special Projects Director before CA Senate Health Committee (March 16, 2011)
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California Issues Reports on Hospital-Acquired Infections (January 2, 2011)
Policy and Legislation
Consumers Union News Releases
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Patient Safety Activists To Rally Outside San Francisco Court House (June 21, 2011)
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CDC: 58% drop in central line infections in ICUs (March 1, 2011)
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California Issues Reports on Hospital-Acquired Infections (January 2, 2011)
Blog Posts
News
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Public Health Department Fines 14 Hospitals for Patient Safety Errors
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.
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Immediate Jeopardy: 14 CA Hospitals Fined $850,000
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.
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Calif. Hospital Report Cards Likely To Go Away
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.
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4-Year-Old Dies During Dental Surgery
4-year-old dies during dental surgery and his family is searching for answers to find out what led to his death.
Research and Reports
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Why Not The Best? Comparative Reports on Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections
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.Source: The Commonwealth Fund (July 2010)
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Influenza Vaccination Among Health Care Personnel In California General Acute Care Hospitals For The 2010-11 Respiratory Season
California Department of Public Health: 60.4% of California healthcare workers got vaccinated during the 2010-2011 flu season.
Source: California Department of Public Health (December 5, 2011)
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Consumers’ Priorities for Hospital Quality Improvement and Implications for Public Reporting
Report by the Center for Healthcare Decisions describes consumer perceptions of health care quality and provides new insights for those involved in public reporting.
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California HealthCare Foundation: Hospital-Acquired Infections
California HealthCare Foundation articles on hospital-acquired infections.
Partner Organizations
Nile’s Project
Inspired by the faith-filled life of Nile Calvin Moss, nile’s project is a non-profit organization devoted to educating the public, exposing health care’s big secret and eliminating unnecessary deaths through public awareness!
Contact: Carole Moss
Alliance for Safety Awareness for Patients (ASAP)
The Alliance for Safety Awareness for Patients (ASAP) is a non-profit organization formed by Necrotizing Fasciitis Survivor Alicia Cole and her parents Ron & Betty Cole. Its mission is to educate and protect patients through awareness of hospital acquired infections such as Necrotizing Fasciitis, MRSA, VRE, Sepsis and others.
The Empowered Patient
The Empowered Patient
595 Buckingham Way # 305
San Francisco, CA 94132
Contact: Dr. Julia Hallisy
(415) 681-1011
Our goal is to help empowered patients claim their right to safe, effective health care. Patients are beginning to grasp the importance of taking a proactive role in their health care and are coming to the realization that they are a powerful, yet untapped safety resource.
Our mission is to raise public awareness about patient safety issues including adverse events, medication errors, hospital-acquired infections and communication challenges. Help us stand and bear witness to the fact that we can and must do more to keep patients safe.
User Submitted Links (15)
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On April 2, 2009 Glen Gruel posted:
The ulnar nerve was damaged when I had double knee replacement therapy. It is now 3 months and my left hand little finger and half of my ring finger is still numb.
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On April 2, 2009 Mel Henshaw posted:
My wife died on December 27,2008 from a heart attack caused by an infection. We were marrued for 34 years and we would have had our 35 Anniversary on March 28th,her life was not an easy one. At the age of 6 years old she got Polio, because she was too young to get the Polio Vaccine. In the year 2000, she had kidney failure and almost died on the way to the hospital. Durning that time to the present, she was in and out of the hospital for operations on various different site areas because of her blood vessals were shrinking and it was hard to find a good vane to use, and that was when she started getting the infections. It has been very hard on me without her, I love her so much and she would have lived if she didn`t have so many infections. I Love You, Sandi.
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On April 2, 2009 Thomas Carroll posted:
MRSA is over blown and a common bug carried by most healthy individuals.
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On April 2, 2009 Amanda posted:
I hardly think almost 100,000 deaths a year is overblown. (figure from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Hospital bugs result in more deaths than all the U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War—and it costs an estimated $20 billion annually to treat these infections.
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On April 2, 2009 Nellie McConnell posted:
we now have a good way to stay away from foreign produce and food products from Mexico and China. we need the same situation with drugs. where are the drugs made? I don’t want to buy foreign drugs. we need a bill passed to have all drugs posted where they came from.
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On April 28, 2009 Suni Ibarra posted:
I have waited to run into a link about medical errors. I am very pleased that someone is doing this!!!!
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On August 23, 2009 Roberta Mikles, RN posted:
Advocates4QualitySafeCare is a group of uncompensated advocates striving for quality safe care for ALL patients in ALL health care settings. Our group is also focused prevention of patient and family retaliation as a result of speaking out for quality safe care.
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On September 8, 2009 Daniela posted:
Watch this neat patient safety slide show made by CA activist Alicia Cole, Founder of Alliance for Safety Awareness for Patients (ASAP)!
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On September 10, 2009 John Barton posted:
lots of good references
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On January 22, 2010 Eduardo Jeff posted:
Dental clinics need to be looked at closely, dentist changes gloves each time he or she changes room, but they touch the light switch and instruments while touching each patients and don’t sterilize the switch, Xray machine, drills etc. Look closely everyone.
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On April 15, 2010 Brent Gilliland posted:
California and it’s Doctor Medical Group regulations are just another way for doctors to leverage Insurance Companies, raising the price of health care and rationing coverage to patients i.e if your primary doctor changes health groups, all the specialist you have, must to be changed to the new group. California is the only state with this arcane regulation, and it drives up the price of our healthcare
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On April 15, 2010 posted:
THIS IS JUST WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW. WRITE MORE AND GET THE TRUTH OUT FOR ALL TO SEE.
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On April 15, 2010 Jack posted:
Can we start using common sense for a change to save lives, it may be your family member next. At one time in my life a doctor gave me the wrong medication for two years, that meant that I had to suffer with anxiety for two years because of this doctors incompetency. And I was mentally and physically neglected by the workers comp. ins. over the last nineteen years with the ins. not covering the damage to my spine and letting me live in poverty for nineteen years while they told me that they will only cover part of the damage to my spine as well as letting me hang out to dry with little to no income over the nineteen years and they were allowed to get away with it. Leaving me in a horrible state of mind trying to live on sure a small amount of money when I used to be a good wage earner. The W.C. has already used up 1/5 of my human life living in poverty and I know I am not the only one they are abusing and neglecting out of treatment that would help a person in pain.
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On September 28, 2010 [email protected] posted:
The deaths of Americans because of prescription drugs is unconscionable. We, the American people, are paying for the multi-billion dollar ad campaigns that pepper our prime-time television programs. No wonder the medications are so unaffordable. The United States and Australia are the only two countries that allow drug commercials on their televisions! Mothers don’t want sons hearing about Viagra, Extends and other personal items, nor are personal feminine hygiene items welcome. How stupid are the American people to hear about the drug one day, and the class-action lawsuit for that same drug a few hours later, all on the same channel! This is disgusting! None of us want to be pharmaceutical drug salesmen for the wealthy drug companies. The medication any doctor chooses should be a private matter between physician and patient. The brainwashing, misleading commercials on national television, if disallowed, would cut the cost of healthcare immensely. Duh! Anybody ever hear of common sense? It’s bad enough that today’s doctors are lobbied by Big Pharma and graduate as prescription drug salesmen! But to drag Joe and Mary Patient in on the sales act is embarrassing and the height of arrogance and greed.
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On June 21, 2011 Marin Pitu posted:
To better understand Kaiser Permanente and see the big picture read the following and understand that from its creation by Mr. Edgar Kaiser in 1973, this HMO inherited a “DNA” mutation that made this organization so successful. “Perhaps the best introduction to the Kaiser HMO and Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Plan is the summary by Mr. Edgar Kaiser that the less Kaiser does for patients the more money it makes. To get the full context one can go to the University of Virginia and review the presentation Mr. Edgar Kaiser (then Kaiser CEO) made to President Nixon through Mr. Erlichman — the less we do the more we earn”. “All the incentives are toward less medical care, because—the less care we give them, the more money we make”. Protect yourself and your family; learn from other victims horror stories. Kaiser Permanente is in business to please the stock holders, NOT its members! Remember Kaiser Permanente’s main policy: “All the incentives are toward less medical care, because the less care we give them, the more money we make”. Kaiser Permanente has no interest to maintain you healthy! Is a conflict of interest–they will get broke! Therefore, KP makes more and more billions each year, NOT on maintaining you healthy, BUT on maintaining you SICK! If you don’t get it, Google my name Marin Pitu, see video(s); check www.kaiserpapers.org and learn how to avoid being a victim of Kaiser Permanente. Please forward the video(s) to all your friends. Expose and confront Kaiser Permanente’s illegal activities. Kaiser Permanente HMO: The biggest scheme in the history of mankind. ALWAYS remember: “All the incentives are toward less medical care, because the less care we give them, the more money we make” Learn how to maintain you healthy and STOP paying Kaiser Permanente to MAINTAIN YOU SICK! Read, see video and pictures and hopefully you will understand how America’s biggest health care scheme works! They will ruin your health and life the way THEY did to me and thousands of other victims! See a great documentary: “The Beautiful Truth” and learn about another best kept secret: Dr. Max Gerson’s treatment; contact Gerson Institute in San Diego California. Remember to Google my name Marin Pitu, see video(s); check www.kaiserpapers.org and forward it to all your friends. Expose corruption and fraud on The For-profit health care. Marin Pitu