When the conversation shifts to who's got the better health system, the United States or Canada, consider this: The quality of hospital care appears to be the same on both sides of the border. The statement is significant given the dramatic differences in how much each country spends on healthcare, according to one of the authors of a study by the Niagara Health Quality Coalition and the University of Toronto.
The time elapsed since a primary care physician's last board certification correlates with a decline in the quality of care provided to patients, according to a study published by researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. The study included 8,127 hypertensive patients with diabetes who had a high blood pressure reading documented in their records at least once between 2000 and 2005. The team analyzed the temporal relationship between board certification and treatment intensification, defined as an increase in dose, a change from one drug to another or the addition of a new drug.
These days, to spend time in the hospital is to be at risk of contracting a hospital-acquired infection. Some of these infections can be life-threatening. But there is a simple way to make that hospital stay safer, devised by Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, a physician-researcher at Johns Hopkins. The method--a five-item checklist to assure that proper precautions are taken to prevent infection--has been thoroughly tested, first at Johns Hopkins and later in 108 intensive-care units in Michigan, saving lives and reducing costs for patients who received the major fluid tube called a central venous catheter.
Death rates climbed significantly higher than expected at 12 Oregon hospitals, according to recently released state data. For example, among patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, death rates were higher than average at OHSU Hospital, Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville and Merle West Medical Center in Klamath Falls. For the past three years, the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research has posted hospital death rates for selected procedures in which there is some evidence that higher death rates may result from poorer care quality. The state's hospital quality indicators Web site also highlights hospitals' experience with procedures, such as open-heart surgery, in which more practiced centers tend to show better outcomes.
The Cleveland Clinic and its partner in a new hospital in Abu Dhabi are among the sponsors of Arab Health 2008, a giant convention in Dubai. Eight Clinic doctors, including Clinic Chief Executive Officer and President Toby Cosgrove, will speak at the event. Officials are expecting more than 50,000 health-care professionals to attend the event and to see products and services from more than 2,000 exhibitors from 65 countries.
Roselawn Lutheran Church has opened its door to host a new eye clinic in partnership with the Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation. The volunteer-run clinic serves low-income adults who do not have health insurance coverage for vision care. The church is also home to a children's dental clinic, and has received more than $150,000 in aid and services.