In his commentary published in the Wall Street Journal, Benjamin Brewer, MD, says the biggest challenge in primary-care medicine is dealing with the complications of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. "The current financial disincentives to providing proper care for chronic disease are daunting, and the waste created by ignoring the problem is growing as the population ages," Brewer says.
A potent substance used in spine-repair surgery to promote bone growth has been linked to life-threatening complications in dozens of patients. Many of the complications involving the product, Medtronic Inc.'s "Infuse Bone Graft," have occurred during off label uses. Medtronic representatives said it is taking the reports seriously and has been active in warning doctors of certain problems related to use of the bone graft. They added, however, that the rate of complications is low and that reports to the FDA of problems represent one-tenth of 1% of the units sold.
By utilizing health information technology, clinicians have seen medication errors decrease by as much as 20%. Implementing HIT programs has also been shown to improve response times to test results, eliminate repetitive testing, and facilitate evidence-based care. The National Quality Forum is now endorsing several new national voluntary consensus standards for health information technology programs.
The operating room staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston failed to conduct a crucial verbal safety check prior to a June surgery in which doctors operated on the wrong part of a patient's body, according to a state investigation. The investigation also states that "the simple system of marking the location of an incision failed."
A new study has found that the usefulness of tools meant to promote transparency in healthcare are now being questioned. Research by the Center for Studying Health System Change cited various health plans that are now developing ways to help consumers compare the costs and quality of healthcare as being limited in its usefulness. Often, information is found to be lacking.
People die in Sacramento County emergency rooms at higher rates than in almost any other county in California, with county ERs losing 27 out of every 10,000 patients during the last three years. The statewide average is 17, and Sacramento County has a higher death rate than any California county except tiny Inyo County, according to an analysis of data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. The analysis also shows that inland counties tend to lose more emergency patients than coastal counties, with higher death rates clustering in pockets of the Central Valley and interior Southern California.
On September 8, Floridians will get details about the "Cover Florida program"—a state plan designed to improve access to healthcare for about 4 million uninsured adults in the state. Nine companies submitted proposals in August for the program, and the state will choose a statewide provider from among Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Celtic Insurance, JMH Health, Medica Health, Total Health Choice, American Management Advisors, United Health Care, Florida Health Care, and Universal Healthcare. Under the terms of Cover Florida, insurers would offer low-cost coverage to Floridians between ages 19 and 64 who had been uninsured for at least six months. Unemployed Floridians are expected to be able to access the plan sooner.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is seeking information from the nonprofit University of Chicago Medical Center about jobs held by Sen. Barack Obama's wife and one of the senator's best friends. Grassley sent the center a letter saying he was "troubled" by recent news reports about the hospital's efforts to steer patients with non-urgent complaints away from the center's emergency room to local clinics. Michelle Obama was a key figure behind the initiative. The medical center said in a statement that it was working on a response to the letter.
Hospitals are turning to an antibiotic SWAT team to win the war against "superbugs." The efforts are known as antimicrobial stewardship programs, and team top pharmacists, infectious-disease specialists, and microbiologists. The groups monitor the use of a hospital's antibiotics and restrict prescriptions of specific drugs when they become less effective at fighting infections. The hospital programs come as legislation is pending in Congress to create a federal office of antimicrobial resistance and a public-health network to help detect emerging resistant strains of bacteria before they become a national threat.
Nine Georgia hospitals rated worse than national norms on death rates for pneumonia or heart failure, a higher number than all states but California. The Hospital Compare Web site run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows 80 U.S. hospitals listed as top performers in the mortality rates for patients admitted with heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia. No Georgia hospitals were among the best performers. Nationwide, 103 hospitals, including the nine Georgia hospitals, were rated worse than the national average for one or more conditions. Eight of the nine in Georgia were poor performers in pneumonia.
