Medical Errors News and Research

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State roundup: Conn. Gov. says no 'public option' this year

Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief budget adviser defended the administration's plan to sell a state-run health insurance plan to a private company, rebutting a chorus of critics Tuesday who said the move would result in higher premiums and lower benefits for state workers and retirees.

28 Apr 2011

AACN to host annual NTI conference for nurses

Emerging trends in patient care combine with advances in healthcare technology as thousands of nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients gather in Chicago this month.

27 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Sebelius on medical mistakes; Stockman on solving deficit; Fox on Medicare's political history

A recent study found that as many as one out of three hospital patients is harmed by his or her care. And the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. That's about the number of annual deaths caused by auto accidents, AIDS, and breast cancer combined.

26 Apr 2011

Child's death renews medical error debate

News outlets examine efforts to end hospital errors and a different case may challenge laws that protect military medical personnel from medical malpractice lawsuits.

25 Apr 2011

HHS unveils new national patient safety initiative

Health and Human Services Regional Director Marguerite Salazar unveiled today a new national patient safety initiative, Partnership for Patients, on behalf of the Obama Administration at The Children's Hospital. Partnership for Patients will help save 60,000 lives across the country by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.

22 Apr 2011

Ratcliff expands John Muir Medical Center to deliver high-quality patient care

Ratcliff, the San Francisco Bay Area-based architecture, planning and interiors firm, announces the completion of The Tom and Billie Long Patient Care Tower, centerpiece of a $612 million expansion of John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek, California.

22 Apr 2011

SAVE THE PATIENT hosts special community health show on CAN-TV

Celebrating its fifth year on CAN-TV, SAVE THE PATIENT is hosting a special community health show to reinforce the importance of positive, proactive and "preventative" interactions between patients and their health care resources—ranging from physicians to surgeons, nurses to advocates, pharmacists to educators, clinics to hospitals.

22 Apr 2011

Wrong eye operated on by mistake in a 4 year old

Tasha Gaul, mother of 4-year-old Jesse said they had gone to a doctor today to find out if he suffered any permanent damage when a surgeon performed corrective surgery on the wrong eye and then, without consulting the boy's parents, quickly operated on the correct eye. “Right now we're in the dark about what this will be like in the future,” she said. The doctor they saw today told her they will have to wait 5 weeks for his eyes to completely heal before they can determine if there has been any permanent damage.

19 Apr 2011

Hangovers affect surgeon's performance

A new study has shown that excessive alcohol consumption, even on the previous day, appears to be associated with changes in some surgical skills performed on virtual reality simulator testing the following day. The study appeared in the April issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

19 Apr 2011

Investigators provide call to action for training of future physicians to master relationship skills

With mounting evidence that patient-centered care improves medical outcomes, investigators from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine are providing a call to action for the training of future physicians to master relationship skills as well as the burgeoning scientific knowledge needed to practice 21st Century medicine.

16 Apr 2011

Obama administration unveils new initiative to reduce medical errors

The new, $1 billion patient-safety program comes on the heels of a recent study that found one in three Americans admitted to hospitals will experience some type of medical error or accident.

15 Apr 2011

Obama’s next target - medical error reduction for patient safety

Finally serious efforts are being made to ensure patient safety. The Obama administration announced this Tuesday an aggressive approach called ‘The 'Partnership for Patients Program’ to reduce medical errors, partnering with private insurers, business leaders, hospitals and patient advocates to tackle a problem that kills thousands of Americans every year.

12 Apr 2011

Transitional care can improve health outcomes, reduce hospital readmissions

Currently, one in five elderly patients discharged from a hospital is readmitted within a month. Seeking to address the human and substantial financial burden of revolving door hospital readmissions, the Affordable Care Act proposes a number of initiatives to improve care and health outcomes and reduce costs for the growing population of chronically ill people in the U.S. While transitional care is a central theme in these provisions, there is little information available to guide those responsible for implementing these important opportunities.

11 Apr 2011

Research Roundup: The cost of medical errors; 'Unreasonable rate increases'

Health Affairs: The $17.1 Billion Problem: The Annual Cost Of Measurable Medical Errors - "The estimated total cost of measurable medical errors in the United States was $17.1 billion in 2008, which was 0.72 percent of the $2.391 trillion spent on health care," write the authors of this study that used an "an actuarial approach to measure the frequency and costs of measurable U.S. medical errors, identified through medical claims data."

8 Apr 2011

IBM discovers biodegradable nanoparticles that seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria

IBM's announcement of the first biodegradable nanoparticles that can seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria caps off a century of healthcare and life sciences innovation from IBM.

8 Apr 2011

Central Texas Hospital to implement eCareSoft's inpatient EHR and revenue cycle management technology

eCareSoft announced today the completion of an agreement with Central Texas Hospital (CTH) to connect their network of six hospitals with eCareSoft's inpatient complete EHR and revenue cycle management technology.

5 Apr 2011

Oncology experts educate lawmakers about latest information on radiation therapy

Leaders from the radiation oncology community – representing patients, physicians, providers, and manufacturers – met on Capitol Hill today to educate lawmakers and their staffs about the latest in radiation therapy technologies and techniques, improvements in patient care and the community's focus on patient safety in radiation therapy delivery.

1 Apr 2011

HHS unveils ACO details

During a Thursday morning press call, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick unveiled the long-awaited federal rule on accountable care organizations.

1 Apr 2011

'The Silent Treatment' research focuses on communication breakdown in hospitals

Health care professionals make calculated decisions daily to not alert their colleagues when a safety tool signals potential harm to a patient, according to a new study of 6,500 nurses and nurse managers released March 22 during a national briefing in Philadelphia.

23 Mar 2011