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Expanded physician and residency training in telephone medicine is needed

To prevent medical mishaps with patients caused by telephone communication failures, researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System report in the October issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine that expanded physician and residency training in telephone medicine is needed.

4 Oct 2005

More people die as a result of medical errors than from other common causes of death

As part of international efforts to improve patient safety, a new website has been created (www.saferhealthcare.org.uk), run by a partnership of the National Patient Safety Agency, the BMJ Publishing Group, and the US-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

4 Aug 2005

Leading patient safety advocates assess progress in reducing medical error five years after landmark IOM report

It has been five years since the release of the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report on medical errors, “To Err is Human.” What progress has been made to improve patient safety since the report found that nearly 100,000 deaths occur annually as a result of medical error?

18 May 2005

Sydney Research Institute raises concerns about sleepy doctors

Professor Ron Grunstein, Head of the Sleep and Circadian Research Group and Dr Naomi Rogers, chronobiologist both of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, have questioned the ability of doctors in Australia's hospitals to do their job properly given the long hours many are expected to work.

27 Apr 2005

Conventional wisdom could be wrong in primary care

A study by Mark Hall, J.D., professor of law and public health sciences at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre, is suggesting that conventional wisdom could be wrong in that primary care doctors who coordinate the care of their patients by specialists may actually have lower liability risk than primary care doctors who do not attempt care coordination.

29 Mar 2005

Most hospital executives have substantial concerns about mandatory error reporting systems

A survey of hospital leaders indicates that many have serious reservations about a mandatory error reporting system, including that it would discourage event reporting and increase the risk of lawsuits, according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA.

15 Mar 2005

National Patient Safety Awareness Week

National Patient Safety Awareness Week to be observed March 6-12, 2005, is a national education and awareness-building campaign for improving patient safety at the local level.

7 Mar 2005

Do well-trained hospital staff perform CPR properly?

University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether well-trained hospital staff perform CPR compressions and ventilations according to guideline recommendations.

19 Jan 2005

American endocrinologists aim to keep patients safe

As medicine becomes more complex and patients live longer and better lives, it also becomes more difficult to keep them safe.

17 Jan 2005

Rural imaging center takes aim at medical mistakes in healthcare

Thumb MRI Center is taking the initiative to decrease costly medical errors and increase the quality of healthcare by integrating a patented artificial intelligence technology developed by AIdentity Matrix.

22 Dec 2004

Survey shows need for conservative, drug-free options

A new survey showing that nearly half of all Americans are concerned about the safety of the medical care they receive should send a strong signal to the health and insurance industries that safer non-drug, non-surgical treatments should be considered whenever possible, according to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

20 Nov 2004

Comprehensive studies of sleep and medical intern performance

better understand the impact sleep has on medical intern performance, researchers at BWH pioneered two studies both designed to underscore and support efforts hospitals can take to improve patient safety.

1 Nov 2004

Study of patient's perspective medical errors may have health care professional rethinking what is important to their patients

The study, published in the Annals of Family Medicine, suggests that patients are more disturbed with lack of access to and relationships with their physicians than technical errors in diagnosis and treatment.

18 Oct 2004

Survey results show significant positive impact on quality of care from use of PDAs in pediatric practice

Survey results released today in time for the American Academy of Pediatrics 2004 National Conference & Exhibition show significant positive impact on quality of care from use of PDAs in pediatric practice.

7 Oct 2004

Most malaria deaths among U.S. travelers between 1963 and 2001 were preventable

A new study finds that most malaria deaths among U.S. travelers between 1963 and 2001 were preventable. The study is published in the Oct. 5, 2004, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal published in Philadelphia by the American College of Physicians.

4 Oct 2004

Doctors trialing wireless enabled handheld devices to obtain immediate access to the latest patient information

The use of technology in medicine takes another step forward with a program being road-tested now at Creighton University Medical Center.

1 Sep 2004

In the fragmented European hospital information systems market, established vendors have a distinct advantage

New vendors are therefore finding it extremely difficult to break through the barriers and reach potential clients. While some cash-rich vendors have attempted to address this issue through the acquisitions route.

18 Aug 2004

45% of specialists admit having made a recent medical error

Otolaryngologist Dr. David Roberson has first-hand experience with medical errors. He remembers one near-miss in a patient about to receive a cochlear implant – and says it typifies the kinds of mistakes he and his colleagues have turned up in a national survey.

3 Aug 2004

Promise of improved workflows and reduced medical errors to boost adoption of computerised physician order entry systems

Motivated by the need to achieve cost-effective and high-quality care, the European healthcare industry is increasingly turning to computerised physician order entry (CPOE) systems.

24 Jun 2004

Residency training is demanding, leading busy residents to forfeit sleep

Federal mandates last year capped the resident’s work week at 80 hours, reducing the amount of time spent in the operating room and in the hospital treating patients.

23 Jun 2004