Are Superbug Infections the Ultimate Patient Safety Threat?
The medical community expressed alarm over a case in Nevada involving an elderly woman who died from a superbug infection. Doctors could not keep the infection from spreading, and later determined she was infected with the superbug CRE. This case is a reminder that superbug infections could become the most serious patient safety threat of… Read more »
Tags: PatientCare
Posted in Medical Negligence
4 Common Pharmacy Mistakes that Can Harm Patients
have the potential to cause serious injuries or deaths to patients, so it is important to recognize how these errors are made. In some cases, patients or family members can prevent pharmacy mistakes with extra diligence. The following four pharmacy errors are among the most common: Mistaken handwriting: In some cases, a doctor’s poor handwriting… Read more »
Tags: Prescription
Posted in Medication Errors
Florida Hospitals Lose Funding for Patient Safety Hazards
Seven hospitals in Northeast Florida are losing Medicare funding for having high rates of hospital-acquired infections and other patient safety hazards. Under a provision in the Affordable Care Act, hospitals are graded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on patient safety. Hospitals are assigned scores on a 10-point scale. Those in the bottom… Read more »
Tags: HospitalSafety
Posted in Medical Negligence
Parents Sue Florida Hospital After Horrifying Medical Mistake
Two parents have filed a lawsuit for medical malpractice after a horrifying medical mistake left their 19-month-old daughter unable to eat solid foods. The child was rushed to a Florida hospital by her mother after swallowing a small lithium button battery. These batteries generate electrical currents when they come into contact with human tissue. After… Read more »
Tags: Tampa
Posted in Medical Negligence
Has Physician Burnout Become a Patient Safety Threat?
Doctors have one of the most difficult jobs in the world, and comes with a great amount of responsibility. The requirements of this job might be causing an epidemic of physician burnout in hospitals. According to a Mayo Clinic survey, 54 percent of doctors report feeling burnt out. This study claims factors like long hours,… Read more »
Tags: Medicine
Posted in Medical Malpractice
3 Ways New Telemedicine Technologies are Improving Patient Safety
New telemedicine technologies are transforming hospitals across the country by making it easier for healthcare professionals to monitor and communicate with patients. Depending on the hospital, these new technologies are used in a variety of different ways to improve patient safety. Improving communications with patients: At St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, nurses… Read more »
Tags: PatientSafety
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Are Some Pharmacies More Concerned with Profits Than Patient Safety?
Pharmacists are responsible for ensuring patients understand how to safely take their medications. Unfortunately, some have argued that drug store policies can make it difficult or impossible for pharmacists to converse with patients. That is because pharmacists at these stores may be understaffed and overworked. These policies may increase the risk pharmacists fail to warn… Read more »
Tags: DrugStore
Posted in Medication Errors
Are Female Doctors Safer Than Their Male Counterparts?
A new JAMA Internal Medicine article has good news for senior citizens receiving treatment from female doctors. They may have better patient outcomes. According to the Harvard doctors responsible for the article, senior citizen patients treated by women had lower mortality rates within 30 days of admission. The data shows 11.07 percent patients treated by… Read more »
Tags: PatientCare
Posted in Medical Negligence
Will This Alarming New Policy Cause an Increase in Medical Mistakes?
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education will vote on increasing the number of consecutive hours first-year residents can work. This private organization is responsible for overseeing physician training in the United States. If this new policy goes into effect, it may have implications for patient safety in hospitals. At the moment, first-year residents fresh… Read more »
Tags: Medicine
Posted in Medical Malpractice
Can Big Data Prevent a Medical Misdiagnosis?
Forbes recently published an article on how software can pair patients with doctors who are most likely to give them an accurate diagnosis. The article explains how Grand Rounds, a mobile app, can help people find doctors in their area who have the most experience treating specific health conditions. According to the creators of Grand… Read more »
Tags: Healthcare
Posted in Medical Malpractice
