AAMC: Doc Shortage Will Cause Changes in Safety, Analytics, and Risk Management
The need for physicians is driven by many factors; among them, 10,000 baby boomers are reaching the age of 65 every day, and millions of new patients now insured under the Affordable Care Act are starting to make appointments to see the doctor.
Balanced IV Fluids Seem to be Safer than Saline in ICU
Giving balanced crystalloids led to a lower rate of composite outcome of death from any cause.
OhioHealth Sepsis Effort ‘Saved About 250 Lives’
A systemwide initiative involving physicians, nurses, laboratory operations, and pharmacists has helped the nonprofit reduce its sepsis mortality rate.
Judge Orders New Olympus Trial Over Superbug Death
At the initial Bigler trial last year, jurors rejected claims that the design of the company’s top-selling gastrointestinal scope hampered cleaning and declined to award punitive damages to the family. Instead, the jury ordered Olympus to pay the Seattle hospital involved $6.6 million in damages. In turn, the hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, had to pay the family $1 million.
Q&A: The Patient Safety Implications of Overlapping Surgeries
A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association made headlines this November, announcing that overlapping surgeries didn’t increase the risk of postop complications. This study, and several others like it that came out in 2017, suggests the practice may not be as risky as some have feared.
How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers
Researchers have found that women who deliver at these so-called “black-serving” hospitals are more likely to have serious complications — from infections to birth-related embolisms to emergency hysterectomies — than mothers who deliver at institutions that serve fewer black women.
Counting Patient Steps Predicts Readmissions Risk
In a recent study, commercial activity monitors showed a correlation between the number of inpatient steps and the likelihood of readmission.
Needlesticks On The Rise, Despite Safeguards
Compliance with safety sharps continues to decrease, leaving facilities open to safety citations.
Patient Handoffs: The Gap Where Mistakes Are Made
Communication failures contribute to somewhere between 50% to 80% of sentinel events. So it’s the number one cause of the most serious events in hospitals which in turn are a leading cause of death in the U.S.
So Much Care It Hurts: Unneeded Scans, Therapy, Surgery Only Add To Patient’s Ills
From duplicate blood tests to unnecessary knee replacements, millions of patients are being bombarded with screenings, scans and treatments that offer little or no benefit.