Four HIV-positive patients whose records were left behind on an MBTA train by a Massachusetts General Hospital employee are suing the hospital, contending their privacy was breached. In March, the hospital notified 66 patients who received care at its Infectious Disease Associates outpatient practice that billing records bearing their names, Social Security numbers, doctors, and diagnoses had been lost by a manager who was riding the train. Four of the 66 patients filed a breach-of-privacy suit in Suffolk Superior Court against the hospital and the unidentified billing manager.
Kaiser Permanente has 30 farmers markets at medical facilities in four states where patients, staff and community members shop. Locally grown fruits and vegetables also are used in 23 Kaiser hospital kitchens. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Preston Maring, MD, says Kaiser Permanente's emphasis on preventive medicine seemed a good fit for farm-fresh food.
The Interim Louisiana State University Public Hospital "lacks a broad vision and remains in a post-Katrina reactionary mode," according to a report that also found numerous management inefficiencies that add up to $66 million a year. The report found that per-patient costs are far above national standards, the nursing staff is top-heavy with administrators, operating rooms are under-used, and purchasing services are poorly managed. The conclusions are contained in a 161-page assessment by Alvarez & Marsal, the consulting firm that was brought on board in to oversee the hospital's day-to-day operations and search for efficiencies.
In many new hospitals and pavilions, single-patient rooms are now viewed as an important element of high-quality healthcare. The benefits of the single room emerged through evidence-based hospital design. More than 1,500 studies have examined ways that design can reduce medical errors, infections and falls—and relieve patient stress. Besides privacy, research shows that single rooms reduce infections and patient stress, and improve sleep. In 2006, the American Institute of Architects called for single rooms in all new hospital construction.
After a year, the first 32 medical practices to sign up for a chronic-care initiative in Pennsylvania reported that their diabetic patients were doing better. Forty-four percent of the 15,000 diabetic patients in the program gained ideal control of their blood sugar, up from 33% a year ago. Participants say the program works because it gives incentives for caregivers to track patients better and to hire more staff. Over time, proponents hope to see broad health improvements and big savings from fewer hospitalizations and ER visits.
Once reserved for cases in which the life of the baby or mother was in danger, the cesarean is now routine. The most common operation in the U.S., it is performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965. With that surge has come an explosion in medical bills, an increase in complications, and a reconsideration of the cesarean as a sometimes unnecessary risk.