New York Gov. David A. Paterson has introduced a patient safety bill that would give the state more authority in health investigations and make public names of doctors under scrutiny. Health Commissioner Richard Daines said the bill would give the New York Department of Health a "crisper statement of authority" to speed up the investigation process and would ensure doctors are aware of infection control practices.
Scientists have developed a drug that they say could be cure for MRSA. A British research firm claims that their discovery represented a "major breakthrough" in the battle against MRSA, a superbug responsible for the deaths of more than 1,600 patients in the UK every year. The firm, Destiny Pharma, is already carrying out human trials on the drug, and hopes to make the drug available in hospitals within three years.
Invasive MRSA is the third most-common reportable communicable disease in Tennessee, according to representatives from the Tennessee Department of Health. Staph infections with resistance to some antibiotics have occcurred in healthcare facilities since the 1960s, but public Tennessee health officials are now watching a growing tide of a strain that is contracted outside hospital settings. As a result, hospitals in the state have doubled their emphasis on hand-washing and infection control, and precautions have been taken in facilities where the infection is likely to be spread, such as jails, schools, and locker rooms.
Julie Morath, RN, chief operating officer of the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, says that while the research being done about the quality and safety of healthcare for adults is “remarkable,” more must be done to help identify the unsafe areas of medical care for children. Morath points to a recent study that found for every 100 children admitted to hospitals, there were about 11 drug-related harmful events—more than one in five of which were preventable.
David Shulkin, MD, president and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, has been doing administrative rounds during the overnight hours at his hospital and observing the differences in care offered to those who come to the hospital at night and during the daytime hours. Shulkin's initiative is intended to address the stark discrepancy in quality between daytime and nighttime inpatient services, he says.
California health officials have fined 13 hospitals for placing patients at risk of serious injury or death. The fines marked the third time the California Department of Public Health has disciplined hospitals since a 2007 state law went into effect that grants the agency the authority to fine facilities for placing patients in serious jeopardy. Each fine was $25,000, and experts expect the high-profile fines to pressure hospitals to improve patient safety.