35 Illinois hospitals receive A grades in latest Leapfrog rankings
Thirty-five of 111 Illinois hospitals studied by the Leapfrog Group received top marks on patient safety, according to a report released Thursday.
Doctors Warn Patients May Be Billed Twice
A primary care clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, has a sign stating that if a patient raises a concern beyond the original scope of the visit, they may be billed separately for doing so. Atrium Health Primary Care Mountain Island certainly isn’t alone in posting such a notice. In recent months, a MedPage Today reader […]
Opinion | When a Revolutionary Cancer Treatment Causes Cancer
Sekeres is a leukemia specialist. My patient was young, in his thirties, and had a terrible leukemia that refused to be vanquished with multiple rounds of chemotherapy. Many of my adult patients, at the time of their diagnosis, tell me they are so happy they have acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and not acute myeloid leukemia, because […]
Wrongful Death Suit Filed After Patient Waited Hours in Emergency Room Lobby
After a patient died while waiting for care in an emergency department waiting room in Washington state, the woman’s husband has filed suit against the hospital, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Sean Costello, individually and on behalf of the estate of Cheyenna Costello, alleged that his wife’s death at the age of 41 in November […]
Top Patient Advocacy Orgs Have Industry Ties in Leadership, Study Shows
Three-quarters of the highest-revenue patient advocacy organizations (PAOs) in the U.S. have board members or senior leadership with ties to the pharmaceutical or medical device industry, a cross-sectional study showed. Of the 50 PAOs reviewed, 74% had board members with prior or current industry ties, and 50% had paid staff or executives with these ties, […]
Another HIV Patient Possibly Cured With Stem Cell Transplant
BRISBANE, Australia — Another HIV patient has been off antiretroviral medication for 20 months without detectable HIV levels after he underwent stem cell transplant to treat cancer — but, unlike previous “cures,” this patient’s donor stem cells did not have the mutation that confers resistance to HIV. Dubbed the “Geneva patient,” the man was diagnosed […]
‘If the Narcan Isn’t Working, Give More’ and Other Myths About Naloxone Use
If you administer naloxone (Narcan) to a patient experiencing an apparent opioid overdose and it doesn’t seem to be working, should you give more? Not necessarily, according to Kelly Ramsey, MD, MPH, chief of medical services at the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports in Albany. Adding a second dose of naloxone […]
Opinion | ‘Medically Relevant to Saving the Life of Your Patient’: What We Heard This Week
“It’s medically relevant to saving the life of your patient.” — Paul Nestadt, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Anxiety Disorders Clinic in Baltimore, about why clinicians should ask patients about gun access in the home. “If you don’t have insurance, how are you getting that?” — Capt. Christina Bell, MD, of the Womack Army Medical […]
Transplant Chief Was an Organ Recipient Herself
Though it wasn’t so long ago that Sara Kathryn Smith, MD, was a liver transplant patient herself, last year she became the medical director for pediatric liver transplantation at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Smith’s unique perspective on patient care has primed her for the role, and for advocating for the importance of organ […]
Opinion | ‘They Are the Gatekeepers in Patient Care’: What We Heard This Week
“They are the gatekeepers in patient care.” — Linda Murphy, president of revenue cycle solutions at AMN Healthcare, on the influence doctors have over commercial health insurer claims. “Frankly, he wasn’t diagnosed earlier in his life because he wasn’t white.” — Jennifer Taylor-Cousar, MD, of National Jewish Health in Denver, on the difficult journey of […]