Hospital Patients

A Public Health Threat Cloaked in a Climate of Secrecy: 162,000 dead

By Matt Richtel and Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times. The rise of Candida auris embodies a serious and growing public health threat: drug-resistant germs. Bacteria are rebelling. They’re turning the tide against antibiotics by outsmarting… Read More

Hospital Pharmacists forced to Ration Drugs Due To Drug Shortages

By Lisa Rapaport, for Reuters Health. Hospital medication shortages are forcing clinicians to decide which patients receive needed medications and which do not. More than two-thirds of pharmacists in U.S. hospitals deal with at least… Read More

Superbugs, Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) and How They’re Spread

Superbugs and Hospital-Acquired-Infections. By Trisha Torrey, verywell health. No discussion of patient safety would be complete without covering the growth of superbugs, infectious organisms that make patients sick and may even cause death. They are called superbugs because… Read More

Patient Dumping: EMTALA Law Governs ER and Maybe Inpatient Treatment and Discharge

From Maguire Woods. EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) is a law that governs when a patient may be 1.) refused treatment in an emergency room; and 2.) transferred from one hospital to… Read More

440,000 Preventable Deaths Annually from Hospital Mistakes

By Erica Daniels for The National Trial Lawyers. A patient safety study estimates that more than 400,000 American deaths are associated with preventable harm done to patients in hospital settings. According to the Journal of Patient Safety study, Evidence-based… Read More

Strokes in the Hospital

By Deborah Gesensway, Today’s Hospitalist. Studies show that it can take as long as 20 hours to recognize when an inpatient is having a stroke Because they work at a Joint Commission-certified primary stroke center,… Read More

Hospitals Profit From Surgical Errors, Study Finds

By DENISE GRADY – The New York Times. Hospitals make money from their own mistakes because insurers pay them for the longer stays and extra care that patients need to treat surgical complications that could… Read More

C-sections drive up costs and increase risks for mothers and babies.

Consumer Reports. Pregnant women put a lot of trust in their doctors and hospitals. But a Consumer Reports investigation of more than 1,500 hospitals in 22 states suggests that such trust may be misplaced. It… Read More

Beware of Sepsis

From the Medical Laboratory Observer. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition triggered by a systemic infection, caused by bacteria, virus or parasite that ultimately affects the function of vital organs. Sepsis is a progressive shutdown of… Read More

Is your hospital as safe as you think?

From Consumerreports.org. Many people are aware that visiting a hospital can put their health at risk in a number of ways. But even a patient who knows what to look out for and which precautions… Read More