Federal officials have arrested David Matthew Kwiatkowski and charged him in connection with the hepatitis C infection of at least 30 patients who were treated in Exeter Hospital's cardiac catheterization lab. The 32-year-old worked as a medical technician at the hospital from April 2011 to May 2012, according to a press release from the US Attorney's office in Concord, N.H. He is accused of taking an anesthetic called Fentanyl, said to be more powerful than morphine. In his role, he should not have had direct access to the drug, but an empty syringe and several needles were found in his vehicle, the release said.
Facing an Aug. 1 contract deadline, Memorial Health Care System and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee are still at odds on a new contract. But, regardless of the outcome, Memorial CEO Jim Hobson said patients with BlueCross coverage won't have to pay more. He said, "Because of our long-standing commitment to our patients and this community, we have put plans in place that allow BlueCross patients to continue their care with Memorial at no additional cost, regardless of the outcome of our negotiations." He said under Tennessee law, BlueCross will grant certain patients in-network benefits after the Aug. 1, 2012 termination date under Continuity of Care provisions.
Health IT systems tools are valuable, but they run up against a deeply rooted medical culture that doesn't pay all that much attention to costs. This culture begins to take hold during medical school. As soon as medical students begin their clinical training, they're encouraged to consider all the diagnostic possibilities when caring for patients, say Lisa Rosenbaum, MD, and Daniela Lamas, MD, editorial fellows at the New England Journal of Medicine. Many physicians would argue that ignoring these more remote diagnoses means putting costs ahead of patients' welfare, and that's simply unethical. Bills would be significantly lower if physicians stopped ordering unnecessary procedures. And there's now solid evidence to show that some routine diagnostic and screening tests really are a waste of money.
Abington Health and Holy Redeemer Health System called off their plans for a merger Wednesday, amid intense pressure from activists who opposed the plan because it would have meant an end to abortions, which Abington has been performing. The two institutions released a brief joint statement Wednesday afternoon, saying that officials were disappointed but that their decision was "in the best interests of both organizations." Representatives for both health systems declined requests to interview officials. The merger, announced just three weeks ago, was officially termed a "partnership" between Abington and the Catholic-run Redeemer.
If the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will soon establish a "registry of patient registries" (RoPR) to aid researchers doing comparative effectiveness research. The registries referenced in RoPR would include those related to clinical trials and might also encompass patient registries created by healthcare systems and accountable care organizations. AHRQ's proposal, published in the Federal Register, would create a database of the registries used in some observational trials.
The official guideline from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is that nurses should lift no more than 35 pounds at any given time, but few hospitals and nursing homes follow that rule. Back injuries to healthcare workers cost billions of dollars annually and are a primary reason for nurses choosing to leave the profession. A 2011 health and safety survey from the American Nurses Association showed that disabling injuries from lifting are a top concern among 62 percent of nurses. Eight in 10 nurses said muscle and joint pain is a frequent occurrence.