State Disclosure Reports
- Illinois Hospital Report Card
Consumers Union Documents
- Response to Consumer Reports’ questions from Decatur Memorial Hospital
The Low-Down Dozen: Hospital responses to CR (Decatur Memorial Hospital – Decatur, IL)
- Response to Consumer Reports’ questions from Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers
The Low-Down Dozen: Hospital responses to CR (Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers, Evergreen Park, IL)
- State Medical Error Report Links
Reports from the states with laws requiring public reporting of medical errors.
- State Hospital Infection Public Reporting Laws
Summary of state laws hospital infection reporting laws.
Blog Posts
- Seattle PI: U.S. pigs and farmers carry MRSA but federal food safety agencies are doing little to see if the pork is safe
Seattle PI reports on a new study that found pigs and workers on several Midwestern farms are colonized with MRSA.
- MRSA takes its toll on father and son
Following a bike accident, Jimmy Jr. needed knee surgery hoping to be strong enough to play high school football. Instead he acquired MRSA…
News Articles
- Chicago Sun Times covers Consumer Reports hospital ratings
Source: Sun Times (Thursday March 27, 2014)
Chicago Sun Times covers Consumer Reports’ hospital ratings that were released today.
- When a University Hospital Backs a Surgical Robot, Controversy Ensues
Source: Truthout (Tuesday February 18, 2014)
ProPublica’s Charles Ornstein writes this op-ed describing a full-page ad for the da Vinci surgical robot featuring members of a surgery team at an IL university hospital. This ad was spotted a couple Sundays ago by former hospital executive, Paul Levy, in the New York Times magazine. Following controversy, the university asked the robot device maker to suspend the ad.
- Superbug Sickens Dozens in Illinois
Source: The Scientist (Thursday January 9, 2014)
Nearly 50 people in the Chicago area have been infected by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a bacterium that is highly resistant to treatment, and one the agency last year deemed an urgent threat to public health. Most of them were patients who underwent endoscopic procedures involving the pancreas or bile ducts at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL, between January and September 2013.
- Illinois Hospital’s Experience with DePuy ASR Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Underscores its Problems
Source: Bad Medical Devices Blog (Friday March 22, 2013)
The high failure rate of the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant seen among the patients at one Illinois hospital underscores the dangers posed by this and other similar hip implants.
- IL: Agency that polices doctors to slash staff
Source: Chicago Tribune (Friday January 11, 2013)
The Illinois agency that license doctors estimates that it will take up to 18 months to renew a license.
- Illinois surgery centers slip on infection control
Source: Associated Press (Sunday August 7, 2011)
Here is a list of Illinois surgery centers that were cited for infection-control problems. Last year, The Associated Press examined reports in Illinois and found that nearly 76 percent of centers that were inspected were cited for infection-control problems.
- New law brings Illinois doctor website back online
Source: Associated Press (Tuesday August 9, 2011)
Consumers will be able to see whether a doctor has been disciplined in Illinois or in another state. Malpractice judgments and settlements going back five years will be posted, as will updates as new cases are decided. If a doctor appeals a court judgment, the doctor’s profile will note the appeal.
- Illinois is poised to reveal staph infections as killers
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Thursday June 30, 2011)
Death certificates in IL will say whether the patient died of MRSA or other infections that are resistant to multiple drugs if they contributed to or caused a death.
- Illinois Appellate Court Ruling Means Hospitals Must Release Data about Incidents of MRSA Infections
Source: dBusiness News (Wednesday June 29, 2011)
A recent Illinois Appellate Court opinion, which reversed the decision of a lower court, will make it easier for all hospital patients who acquire methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) to obtain medical records for the purpose of pursuing legal action.
- Medical misdiagnoses can have fatal consequences
Source: The State Journal-Register (Sunday June 26, 2011)
Diagnostic errors, a subset of medical errors, can lead to devastasting harm for patients.
Research and Reports
- MRSA Trends in Illinois Hospitals: 2002-2007In 2002, there were 6,841 cases of MRSA diagnosed by Illinois hospitals. This number has increased steadily each year, with 11,372 cases diagnosed in 2007, a 66.2 percent increase in total cases over the six-year period.
- Illinois Passes State Law to Make Hospital Infection Rates PublicA coalition of consumer, labor and employer groups supported the final passage of a groundbreaking disclosure law that makes infection rates public for Illinois consumers.