John Principe, MD, a primary care physician for 20 years, came close to abandoning medicine after growing weary of seeing chronically ill patients who wouldn't take care of themselves. To his surprise, though, his second career choice and passion –– cooking, which he almost left medicine for –– would end up not just restoring but transforming his commitment to his patients. Principe two years ago founded WellBeingMD Ltd., a comprehensive medical practice in Palos Heights that integrates traditional medicine with classes on making significant lifestyle changes –– including cooking, yoga, pilates, exercise, acupuncture and massage. His work has garnered praise from some of the nation's top health researchers, including Dr. David Eisenberg, director of the Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at the Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center.
President Obama called for swift government action Monday against a drug shortage crisis that's increasingly left doctors and hospitals scrambling for life-saving medications -- often including those used in cancer and emergency treatment. The executive order from the White House called on the Food and Drug Administration to broaden its reporting of potential drug shortages, speed up the review of applications from companies wishing to change production of drugs facing a potential shortage, and pass along more information to the Justice Department regarding instances of suspected collusion or price gouging. Obama strongly supported legislation that's working its way through both houses of Congress that would force drug makers to notify the FDA six months before a potential shortage. Currently, manufacturers only need to alert the agency if medically necessary drugs are discontinued. Shortage notifications are strictly voluntary.
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center has failed to keep its operating rooms clean and safe and to protect its patients from possible infection, according to federal inspection reports recently released to The Times. Inspectors found rooms that had holes in the ceilings or that were dusty and cluttered. Operating rooms were kept at the wrong humidity level, which can lead to the spread of germs, the reports said. Hospital staff members also weren't washing their hands according to policy. "The hospital failed to maintain a sanitary environment for the provision of surgical services," the reports said. The infection control problems found at the county-run hospital earlier this year were so serious that the federal government sent a letter this summer threatening to revoke Medicare funding, a move that could financially destroy the institution.
An Israeli man who brokered black- market sales of human kidneys in the U.S. arranged transplant surgeries at medical centers, including Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, according to five people familiar with the case. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, 60, pleaded guilty yesterday to three counts of organ trafficking and one count of conspiracy, becoming the first person convicted in the U.S. of organ trafficking. A 1984 U.S. law bans the sale of human organs. He said in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, that three ailing people paid him a total $410,000 to arrange the sale of kidneys from healthy donors, and an undercover FBI agent paid him $10,000.
A partnership between two rivals offers a glimpse of the future under a cornerstone of the federal health care overhaul. HealthPartners and Allina Hospitals and Clinics together tested strategies to improve care and reduce health costs for some 27,000 patients in the northwest metro area. The partnership calls the effort a "learning lab" for the Accountable Care Organization envisioned under the federal health care law. They say they've proven that such an organization can lower costs while improving quality. After a year, their collaboration saved about $6 million which was enough to bring the growth rate of health care costs down from 8 percent to just 3 percent, and improving patient satisfaction scores.
Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn says it is investigating the death of a 6-month-old boy in its care. According to media reports, the family says Amaan Ahmmad died from an overdose of an antibiotic. A cousin, Jhora Akther, told the Daily News they brought the infant to the emergency room on Friday because he was running a fever. Akther said the boy was hooked to an IV drip and administered an antibiotic. He said the child went into a coma and died on Tuesday. The hospital said in a statement that it was "investigating the circumstances of this traffic incident."