State law provides for a three-year prison sentence and $6,000 fine against those who harm law enforcement officials. But those convicted of assaulting nurses, doctors, firefighters and emergency medical technicians get two-year sentences and $4,000 fines. According to a recent Star Tribune analysis, nurses are being attacked in record numbers. This year, nurses have filed 46 workers' compensation claims for attacks and intentional injuries suffered while on duty in hospitals, the analysis found. The number of attacks is on pace to double that of 2012 and 2013. The problem goes beyond Minnesota. A 2011 U.S. Justice Department study found that more than 400,000 nurses and other health care professionals are the victims of violent crimes in the workplace every year.
When we are patients, we want our doctors to make recommendations that are in our best interests as individuals. As physicians, we strive to do the same for our patients. But financial forces largely hidden from the public are beginning to corrupt care and undermine the bond of trust between doctors and patients. Insurers, hospital networks and regulatory groups have put in place both rewards and punishments that can powerfully influence your doctor's decisions. Contracts for medical care that incorporate "pay for performance" direct physicians to meet strict metrics for testing and treatment.
A Detroit-based health system has unveiled a new hospital gown that aims to put the wraps on a big source of patients' grumbles — a lack of rear coverage. Resembling a wrap-around robe, the ''Model G'' gown closes the once-drafty back, using adjustable snaps on the front and along the shoulders. As well as catering to patients who appreciate a more modest look, the gown — with color-coded trim — is made from a cotton-poplin blend for improved comfort. The gown was developed by the Henry Ford Innovation Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. A version was introduced in 2013 on a few inpatient floors, and the institute has since updated the design based on feedback from patients and staff.
With many seniors facing high medical bills, a congressional investigation has found that federal government websites meant to give Medicare patients basic consumer tools instead fail to provide adequate information on out-of-pocket costs, and even quality of care. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that Medicare lacks clear procedures for getting useful information to consumers. The report, obtained by The Associated Press before its public release, finds "critical weaknesses" in five consumer-information websites run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that seek to inform how well hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other Medicare providers are doing.
The U.S. Supreme Court took many by surprise when it announced earlier this month that it will review a case that has the potential to make health insurance significantly less affordable in the states that rely on the federal exchange. With a decision expected in June, a number of states are likely to consider action to avert a worst-case scenario. The case, King v. Burwell, is one of two suits brought by opponents of the Affordable Care Act's requirement that everyone has health insurance. Inspired by the libertarian Cato Institute, the plaintiffs argue that, as written, the health law restricts the federal subsidies to only states that host their own exchange.
What does it take to Ebola-proof a hospital? Over the past few months, U.S. medical centers have spent millions of dollars putting together a plan to treat patients with the scary, but extremely rare disease. To a large extent, it has been an exercise in improvisation. In Newark, New Jersey, a hospital dealing with a space-crunch and staff anxiety moved its Ebola operation out of its main building and into a mobile medical shelter ordinarily used during natural disasters. In Dallas, Texas, three hospital systems pooled resources to create a treatment center in a defunct intensive care unit sitting empty since the spring.