Medication Errors Cause 1.5 Million Injuries Annually
A report by the Institute of Medicine says more than 1.5 million Americans are harmed by drug errors in medical settings each year and calls for all prescriptions to be written electronically by 2010. The report said that despite recent initiatives to improve the administration of medicines, on average a hospitalized patient is subject to at least one medication error per day. Click here to view the report. (Free Registration Required)
Cancer Risk Increased with Multiple HPV Infections
Exposure to multiple strains of the virus linked to cervical cancer appears to significantly increase a women’s risk of developing the disease. Women are encouraged to make sure they receive testing as part of their annual Pap Test. Also in this article, read about the new vaccine that has recently been approved to prevent HPV. Click here to read more.
Language Barriers Impede Care
Two articles show the importance of making sure patients are understood! When caregivers and patients don’t understand each other, disaster can ensue, says an article in the current The New England Journal of Medicine. In “Language Barriers to Health Care in the United States,” Glenn Flores, M.D., describes horrendous miscommunication when either there’s no medical interpreter available or the interpreter is incompetent. In one case, a mother was instructed to put oral antibiotics in a child’s ears. In another, a doctor poorly versed in Spanish translated “she hit herself” as “I hit her,” resulting in a mother losing custody of her two children after one of them fell off her tricycle. A hospital ended up paying a $71 million damage suit because an 18-year-old boy wasn’t treated soon enough for a ruptured artery: Paramedics had interpreted his complaint of “intoxicado” as “intoxicated” rather than “nauseated,” and the hospital wasted precious hours on a drug-and-alcohol workup. The patient ended up quadriplegic. Though hospitals are legally required to provide translation services under a variety of federal and state laws, the unfunded mandates don’t carry much clout. Flores advocates laws forcing payers to cover the cost of interpreters, which a 2002 OMB study says would cost only about $4 per patient. For more information on language barriers click here.
Diabetes Mgmt Improves Care, Not Outcomes
Reminding diabetic patients to come in for foot and retinal exams gets them into the office all right, but according to a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, standard diabetes disease-management strategies don’t seem to do much for controlling key factors like blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol, or for getting patients to take their medications properly. Researchers from the UCLA School of Public Health studied 8,661 patients from 63 physician groups in several health plans. They looked at the use of three disease management strategies: physician reminders, regular feedback from physician groups to their doctors on the care they provide; and structured care management, where patients see case managers and attend diabetes education classes. The authors said that disease-management programs have focused so far on improving processes, and now they have to start focusing on outcomes. To learn more, click here to read the press release.
Ethics Questions in Katrina Patient Deaths
Though arrests have been made in connection with possible euthanizing of critically ill hospital patients during Hurricane Katrina, medical ethicists say the issues involved make it unlikely that the cases were “simple homicide” that the state attorney general alleges. Experts quoted in today’s say the deaths may have been due to painkillers given as palliative care. Click here to read the article.
FDA Orders New Warnings for Antidepressants
The FDA will require makers of antidepressant drugs to include new warning labels for two possible side effects. Specifically, babies born to mothers who used the antidepressants while pregnant can suffer from a lung disorder called persistent pulmonary hypertension. This is a rare but serious side effect that is especially common in babies whose mothers take the drugs in the last half of pregnancy. The second warning alerts patients of possible drug interactions between antidepressants and triptans, a class of drugs commonly used to treat migraines. Taking an SSRI and a triptian can result in serotonin syndrome, a condition that can be life threatening. SSRIs include Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Lexapro. Click here to read the report.
New Asthma Care Resource
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released: Asthma Care and Quality Improvement: A Resource Guide for State Action last month. The Guide is designed to help state leaders identify measures for quality for asthma care, collect asthma care data and develop plans to improve the quality of care in their states. Click here to find the Guide and its companion workbook.
New Report from Institute of Medicine: Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point
Despite the lifesaving feats performed every day by emergency departments and ambulance services, the nation’s emergency medical system as a whole is overburdened, underfunded, and highly fragmented, says this series of three reports from the Institute of Medicine. As a result, ambulances are turned away from emergency departments on average once every minute and patients in many areas may wait hours or even days for a hospital bed. Moreover, the system is ill-prepared to handle surges from disasters such as hurricanes, terrorist attacks, or disease outbreaks.
Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point explores the changing role of the hospital emergency department and describes the national epidemic of overcrowded emergency departments and trauma centers. Click here to download the report.
Retail Clinics…..A Quick Answer to the ED Problems or A Quality of Care Issue?
Retail Clinics rooted in Minnesota and rapidly expanding nationwide, are reshaping how medical services are being delivered and paid for — but also stirring debate about the quality of the emerging care. Click here to read more.
