Medical Errors News and Research

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Quality issues persist at hospitals, plastic surgery centers; use of CT scans in ER increases

Despite intensive efforts to improve patient safety, a six-year study at 10 North Carolina hospitals showed no decline in so-called patient harms, which included medical errors and unavoidable mistakes.

1 Dec 2010

Texas gives disability oversight to quasi-government authorities; Colorado rural ambulance services face crisis

Texas Tribune: "For years, the state paid private providers who care for people with disabilities to help the clients decide how many services they need and how intensive they should be. But an 11th-hour change state lawmakers inserted into the budget last session stripped the private providers of this case management responsibility, giving it instead to local, quasi-governmental Mental Retardation Authorities, who administer publicly funded services to people with disabilities.

30 Nov 2010

Hospital errors in U.S. continue despite efforts: Study

A new study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) showed that all the efforts to make American hospitals error free and safe are inadequate.

25 Nov 2010

New study finds no decrease in patient harm at hospitals

Despite concerted efforts, no decreases in patient harm were detected at 10 randomly selected North Carolina hospitals between 2002 and 2007, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

25 Nov 2010

Policy of routine error disclosure may minimize impact of medical errors

People who believe their doctor or hospital would inform them if a medical error occurred are "far more forgiving" than those who doubt their health care provider would disclose the error, reports a study in the November issue of Medical Care.

24 Nov 2010

State roundup: Calif. stem cell research; Mass. prisons change HIV medicine procedure; Native Americans' high suicide rates

When millionaire Silicon Valley real estate developer Bob Klein launched his ballot drive to create a $3-billion state fund for stem-cell research in 2004, he pitched it as a way of taking politics out of science and focusing on cures.

22 Nov 2010

Today's OpEds: Opposing views on hospital medical errors; lesson for Andy Harris; Dems and abortion

If a 747 jetliner crashed every day, killing all 500 people aboard, there would be a national uproar over aviation safety and an all-out mobilization to fix the problem. In the nation's hospitals, though, about the same number of people die on average every day from medical "adverse events," many of them preventable errors such as infections or incorrect medications.

19 Nov 2010

Mass. regulators and nursing homes fight inappropriate medicating; officials deal with Hawaii doctor shortage

State regulators and the Massachusetts nursing home industry are launching a campaign today to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia.

19 Nov 2010

Stafford Hospital inquiry looks into “human rights” violations in care

A public inquiry into conditions and care at Stafford hospital in Stafford, England heard that the hospital was violating basic human rights of the patients. The counsel for Cure the NHS, a campaign group set up by relatives of some of the people who died at the hospital after receiving inadequate treatment established the fact that the standard of care constituted inhuman and degrading treatment at the facility.

10 Nov 2010

Health law, elections trigger questions about Medicare payment issues

While most people are focused on the midterm elections Tuesday, the American Medical Association is gearing up for the lame-duck congressional session scheduled to start Nov. 15.

2 Nov 2010

State officials adopt standards for insurers' expenses

The New York Times: "State insurance commissioners on Thursday unanimously endorsed tough new standards that would require many health insurance companies to spend more of each premium dollar for the benefit of consumers. The new federal health care law stipulates that at least 80 percent of premium revenue must be spent on medical care and 'activities that improve health care quality' for patients — not retained as profits or used to pay executive compensation and administrative expenses.

25 Oct 2010

Joint Commission: Medical errors in hospitals tied to 'handoffs' of patients

The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, released an update on a collaborative project with 10 health systems tragetting the frequent errors that happen in hospitals when a patient is handed off from one provider to another.

25 Oct 2010

CMS head Berwick praises new center for Medicare and Medicaid innovation

The planned Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has the potential to be the 'jewel in the crown' of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Donald M. Berwick, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

21 Oct 2010

Minnesota health care organizations share patient EHRs through network of interoperable systems

Eight of the largest health care organizations in Minnesota have successfully launched software that enables electronic sharing of patient records across the group - and with other network members nationwide. The network of interoperable systems allows for an estimated 75 percent of Minnesotans (3.6 million patients) to show up at any one of the organizations' hospitals or clinics and have records from previous visits immediately available to doctors.

20 Oct 2010

Studies explore efforts to measure, improve hospitals' surgical outcomes

Hospital Compare, an HHS website that allows patients to compare hospitals online using various indicators of quality, is intended to help them choose better facilities for their medical care. But a new report in the Archives of Surgery says the website doesn't help Medicare beneficiaries in need of certain high-risk surgeries find better facilities.

20 Oct 2010

WSNA sues 4 hospitals for failing to provide nurses with rest and meal breaks

Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), representing more than 16,000 registered nurses in Washington State, has filed lawsuits against four hospitals around the state for failing to provide nurses with rest and meal breaks. Research confirms that nurses working long hours have decreased alertness and vigilance which can lead to an increase in medical errors and compromised patient care. WSNA has been working for several years to ensure that nurses receive full, uninterrupted breaks because that dedicated time to rest is critical in preventing fatigue and fatigue-related errors.

15 Oct 2010

Philips Electronics launches new line of neonatal blood pressure solutions

Today Royal Philips Electronics launched its newest line of neonatal blood pressure solutions. As the global leader in neonatal monitoring, Philips designed the new line of neonatal cuffs, air hoses, and upgrade kits specifically to prevent tragic misconnection errors that can cause harm to the most vulnerable of patients.

From Philips Healthcare 14 Oct 2010

State roundup: N.Y.'s retiree health benefits crisis; Colorado referendum

The New York Times: "The cities, counties and authorities of New York have promised more than $200 billion worth of health benefits to their retirees while setting aside almost nothing, putting the public work force on a collision course with the taxpayers who are expected to foot the bill. … The total cost appears in a report to be issued on Wednesday by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a research organization that studies fiscal policy.

14 Oct 2010

Mercy Medical Center and Alegent Health implement PatientKeeper NoteWriter documentation software

PatientKeeper®, Inc., the leading provider of physician information technology, today announced that its new physician documentation software product, PatientKeeper NoteWriter™, has successfully been deployed for physician use at two premier community medical centers in the Midwest.

6 Oct 2010

Massachusetts eHealth Institute names e-MDs as EHR vendor and IOO

e-MDs, an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) solutions, announced they have been named a selected EHR vendor and Implementation Optimization Organization (IOO) by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI). The Institute will serve as a Regional Extension Center (REC) in Massachusetts, working to facilitate the adoption of EHR technology by the state's providers. As a selected vendor, e-MDs will help ensure effective implementation and provider achievement of Meaningful Use.

4 Oct 2010