Study Shows Hospital C-Suite and Risk Managers Struggle with Maintaining Patient Safety

Maximizing patient safety is the top priority for hospital C-Suite executives and Risk Managers in the United States – but, “lack of teamwork, negative culture and poor communication” will present barriers to patient safety in the future – according to a new survey commissioned by American International Group (AIG) in consultation with patient safety expert, Dr. Marty Makary, MD, MPH.

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Health IT Workgroup Discusses Patient Safety, Innovation, and Regulatory Efficiency

Members of a new workgroup that will focus on identifying key considerations to improve patient safety and promote innovation in health information technology (Health IT), including mobile medical applications, have been selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The workgroup will report to the Health IT Policy Commitee which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

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Florida Hospital Tampa Pilots Proactive Patient Monitoring System

Florida Hospital Tampa has adopted EarlySense, a bedside patient monitoring and centralized system. The EarlySense system offers medical professionals the ability to identify early warning signs of patient safety risk and a decline in health. Without ever physically touching the patient, the system measures heart rate, respiration rate, patient movement while in bed as well as how often a patient enters and exits the hospital bed by utilizing a sensor that is placed under the mattress of a bed.

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Young Physicians Patient Safety Award Winners Announced

The Doctors Company Foundation, in partnership with the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), has announced this year’s winners of The Doctors Company Foundation Young Physicians Patient Safety Awards, which recognize young physicians for their deep personal insight into the significance of patient safety work.

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Collaboration Designed to Improve Care Transitions, Reduce Readmission in Rural Areas

Frontier Medicine Better Health Partnership (FMBHP) and Vree Health – a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. focused on technology-enabled services designed to improve the reach, cost-efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare – has announced a collaboration designed to improve care transitions and reduce hospital readmission rates for patients in rural areas.

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Diagnostic Errors More Common, Costly, and Harmful Than Treatment Mistakes

In reviewing 25 years of U.S. malpractice claim payouts, Johns Hopkins researchers found that diagnostic errors — not surgical mistakes or medication overdoses — accounted for the largest fraction of claims, the most severe patient harm, and the highest total of penalty payouts. Diagnosis-related payments amounted to $38.8 billion between 1986 and 2010, they found.

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Bright Spots in a Dark Week

Normally, it doesn’t matter much where I’m from. But, last week, being a long-time resident of the Boston area suddenly came to the forefront. Though I was not ordered to “stay safe at home,” I did and found it hard to concentrate on anything other than news of the Boston Marathon bombings and related manhunt. In the outpouring of information, Boston’s medical community and related media outlets provided some of the best reporting, with news and reflection of lasting value.

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