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Doctors report number of medical malpractice suits declining

May 2, 2012 Aunt Minnie (5/2, Yee) reports, “The number of medical malpractice suits filed in the US each year is actually declining, but those that are filed are more severe, said presenters Dr. Richard Daffner and Dr. Leonard Berlin.” As the story explains, “To minimize risk, radiologists must remain vigilant about communicating urgent results … Read more

Study: most data on hospital infections unavailable to public

Hospitals across the country are using near-total discretion in the way they disclose infections that occur as a result of surgeries, cause over 8,000 deaths annually in the US, and cost an additional $10 billion per year to the healthcare system, a new study underscoring the need for public reporting standards has found.

Report Says Wrong Site Surgery Occurs as Frequently as 40 Times Each Week

Modern Healthcare (6/29, McKinney) reported according to the Joint Commission, “National rates of wrong-site surgeries-which include wrong procedure, wrong side and wrong patient-can reach as high as 40 incidences a week.” The Commission’s Center for Transforming Healthcare “partnered with eight hospitals and surgery centers for the project. Those organizations used robust process improvement tools to … Read more

Sebelius, Honeywell CEO say initiative aims to reduce hospital errors

Encouraging News… HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and David Cote, CEO of Honeywell International, write in a Philadelphia Inquirer (4/25) op-ed that the “Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals.” That number is equivalent to the “deaths caused by auto accidents, AIDS, and breast … Read more

More hospitals using high-tech equipment to track hand washing

  This is encouraging news. American Medical News (4/25) reports that “more hospitals are exploring new technological alternatives to the traditional ‘secret shopper’ method of monitoring whether physicians, nurses and other health professionals clean their hands when they are supposed to.” Some “systems using wireless, infrared, radio frequency identification and alcohol-sensing technology offer the promise … Read more