To make it easier to find a doctor in Boston, the city's health department is starting a telephone referral service that will connect residents with primary care physicians who are accepting new patients. The referral service marks the first tangible result from a task force Mayor Thomas Menino convened to explore how primary care services can be improved in the city. Menino formed the panel of specialists after state authorities ruled that pharmacies and other stores can open health clinics inside their shops. The referral service will be available through the mayor's health line.
Two multiple-sclerosis patients treated with Biogen Idec Inc.'s drug Tysabri contracted a potentially deadly brain infection. The news casts a cloud over the revival of the medicine, which was already withdrawn once over safety concerns. Biogen said it had no plans to recall the drug again or restrict its use. The company said that the two patients who contracted the ailment, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, are alive.
The head of the Indian Health Service defended his agency against accusations that it lost millions of dollars' worth of equipment and tried to cover it up. A report released by congressional investigators charged that roughly $15.8 million worth of equipment vanished from the agency, which provides healthcare to American Indians, over a four-year period. Employees later falsified documents to cover up some of those losses, the investigators charged.
A jury awarded $2.58 million to an Arnold, MO, couple in a medical malpractice case where a retiree got a staph infection and lost his right leg, part of his left foot, a kidney, and some hearing. The jury found Michael Shapiro, MD, and Metro Heart Group of St. Louis to be 67% responsible and St. Anthony's Medical Center to be 33% responsible. Defense attorneys denied any liability by either the hospital or Shapiro, saying the patient could have gotten the infection anywhere.
Novant Health, North Carolina's second-largest hospital chain, is trying to shake up the competitive landscape in one of North Carolina's most attractive healthcare markets. Novant has announced plans to build a $110 million, 46-bed hospital in Holly Springs, a community in fast-growing western Wake County. Novant executives say they have eyes only for Holly Springs, and the nonprofit health-services chain will face several obstacles as it tries to win state regulators' approval. But the market's established medical providers—including UNC Health Care, Duke University Health System, and WakeMed—have reason to be nervous about a potential Novant foray into the area, experts say.
More than 800,000 patients became infected with MRSA last year while in the hospital, according to a study by the Association of Professionals in Infection Control. Tired of such statistics, grieving families across the country held a vigil in memory last week for those who have died as a result of hospital-acquired infections.