MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'hospital infections'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:53:52 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050562&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F07%2Fhospital-acquired-infections-common-and-deadly-in-trauma-patients.html In this study, researchers found that trauma patients who develop serious bloodstream infections are six times more likely to die during their stay than those without an infection. And people who develop other infections, such as pneumonia or MRSA, are 1.5 to 1.9 times more likely to die. Patients with infections also had hospital stays roughly twice as long and hospital costs roughly twice as high as those who didn’t have infections. In an editorial accompanying the article, H.Scott Bjerke, M.D., at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., says: Infections make trauma patients sicker and sicker patients do worse; they die more, they consume more resources, and they stay longer. Or as my teenage son would say, ‘Duh, Dad, everyone knows that.’ So why do we need... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050562 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:01:00 +0100 5050562 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028187&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F07%2Fcdc-releases-new-guide-on-preventing-infections-in-outpatient-clinics.html More than three-quarters of all operations in the U.S. are now done in outpatient clinics, not hospitals. But many of those clinics don’t adhere to standard infection-prevention practices. To help correct that problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released new guidelines meant to prevent infections in in “ambulatory” surgery centers, primary-care offices, endoscopy clinics, and pain-management clinics. The new guide is based on existing CDC guidelines now used mostly in hospitals. The guide includes a checklist meant to prevent infections from injections, poor hygiene, and other causes. Among other recommendations, it suggests that all outpatient practices have at least one individual with specific training in infection control on staff or regular... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028187 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:51:06 +0100 5028187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921409&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F06%2Fhospitals-that-make-their-data-hard-to-find.html One of the most important things to know about a hospital is how many of its patients develop infections. But hospitals often don’t release that data. To help motivate them, we put together a list of teaching hospitals that haven't made their information on infections easily accessible to the public. “The best hospitals know that sunlight is the best disinfectant, so they are willing to publicly report even if their performance is not yet optimal,” said Leah Binder, chief executive officer of The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving health care in hospitals, in part by encouraging them to report information on infections and other measures. For this analysis, we focused on hospitals that are members of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, ex... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921409 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:56:00 +0100 4921409 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921411&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F06%2Fboston-beats-new-york-in-cr-hospital-ratings.html The Boston vs. New York rivalry isn’t just the Red Sox vs. the Yankees. It’s which city, each known for its prestigious hospitals, has better medical care. Well, when it comes to preventing hospital-acquired infections at least, Boston wins, according to our updated hospital Ratings. For this comparison, we looked at hospitals that are members of the Council of Teaching Hospitals (excluding Veteran Administration hospitals) that are in either the Boston hospital-referral region (Boston, Cambridge, and a few neighboring towns); or in the three New York City hospital-referral regions (the five boroughs plus certain neighboring suburbs). We looked at the two most serious kinds of infections: bloodstream infections in intensive-care units that are linked to central-line catheters... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921411 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0100 4921411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911471&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F06%2Fwhere-to-find-a-safe-hospital.html In which hospitals are you least likely to pick up an infection? Our updated hospital Ratings include eight elite ones that reported zero surgical-site infections and zero bloodstream infections. We also identified 36 hospitals with the enviable record of having no bloodstream infections in both our 2010 and 2011 Ratings. This year we were able to include Ratings on central-line bloodstream infections for 1,119 hospitals in the District of Columbia and every state except Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Of those hospitals, 142 (almost 13 percent) reported zero infections, compared with 11 percent last year. Particularly impressive are the 36 hospitals that had zero bloodstream infections in two consecutive reports. For surgical-site infections,... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911471 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:50:00 +0100 4911471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911473&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F06%2Fteaching-hospitals-not-always-best-for-patient-safety.html When you’re really sick you’re best off in a large teaching hospital in a big city, right? Not necessarily, at least when it comes to patient safety, according to our new hospital Ratings. What they found: While many well-established teaching hospitals do well at preventing potentially deadly hospital-acquired infections, others don’t. We looked at bloodstream infections that patients developed in intensive-care units while on central-line catheters, or tubes used to deliver fluids, medication, and nutrition to patients. The data came either from one of the 18 states that publicly report hospital-infection rates, or from The Leapfrog Group a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that focuses on improving health care in hospitals. We focused on hospitals that are... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911473 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0100 4911473 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893434&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F06%2Fpatients-cell-phones-may-carry-dangerous-bacteria.html Hospital-acquired infections often stem from poor hand washing or a mishandled catheter, but there’s another culprit right at your fingertips—your cell phone, suggests a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. It found that cell phones used by patients and their visitors were twice as likely to be contaminated with potentially dangerous bacteria as those carried by people who worked in the hospital. Researchers looked at 200 cell phones from patients, visitors, and health-care workers at a hospital in Turkey, and took swabs of the phones’ keypad, mouth piece, and ear piece. Roughly 40 percent of the patient’s phones and close to 21 percent of health-care workers’ phones tested positive for pathogens. Seven of the patie... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893434 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:20:00 +0100 4893434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820839&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fbedbugs-may-carry-msra-heres-why-you-shouldnt-panic-yet.html Bedbugs are back. And more than just creepy-crawly pests, scientists now worry that the parasites might be connected with a much more serious bug: A particularly nasty bacterium called MRSA. Researchers in Canada recently conducted a study in an area of Vancouver that has both a large bedbug infestation and numerous reports of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. And in small sample of bedbugs collected from patients at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, they found three bedbug carrying the MSRA bacteria. Two other bugs were contaminated with a less dangerous superbug called vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. Dr. Marc Romney, a medical microbiologist at St. Paul's Hospital/Providence Health Care told Reute... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820839 Thu, 12 May 2011 18:25:00 +0100 4820839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813279&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fsome-hospital-infections-can-be-eliminated.html Hospitals that institute a simple checklist and other safety measures can eliminate infections in their intensive-care units for a year or more, according to a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study focused on bloodstream infections in 57 hospitals, mostly in Michigan, caused by central lines, catheters that deliver fluid, nutrition, and medication to patients. Most of the hospitals that participated in the study eliminated the infections for at least a year, and a quarter did so for two years. Overall, the program led to a statewide decline in the number of bloodstream infections that has lasted 36 months. Forty-four other states are now instituting a similar program. The authors of the study wrote that while the results are encouraging, similar effo... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813279 Tue, 10 May 2011 19:55:00 +0100 4813279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780303&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fnew-york-senators-to-doctors-lose-germ-infested-neckties.html A group of New York senators are pushing to make doctors ditch neckties and other accessories, including white coats, in an effort to curb the spread of bacteria. "What your doctor wears around his or her neck can literally make you sick," Democratic Senator Jeffrey Klein told the New York Post. The New York legislation would appoint a commission to come up with a dress code, and discourage doctors and health-care workers from wearing accessories that could harbor diseases. This is not a new issue for the medical community at large. In 2006, a British Medical Journal article warned doctors to ditch disease-ridden neckties during their hospital rounds because, according to the British Medical Association, the dangling neckties can spread disease. At that time, the MBA issued guideline... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780303 Tue, 03 May 2011 18:16:00 +0100 4780303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709199&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F04%2Fwill-new-push-for-patient-safety-leave-consumers-in-the-dark.html Today the federal government, with much fanfare, unveiled a new plan to make health care safer that could save 60,000 lives and as much as $35 billion over the next three years. One important issue conspicuously missing from the rollout: any mention of letting patients know how things are going. Already, 500 hospitals have signed on to the effort, called Partnership for Patients, and the government is getting ready to hand out $1 billion in grants to health-care organizations to help them figure out the best ways to reduce mistakes like hospital infections, medication errors, or sloppy “discharge planning” that sends patients boomeranging back to the hospital soon after they go home. We talked to Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumer Reports’ Safe Patient Project, about... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709199 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:40:50 +0100 4709199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704646&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F04%2Fwill-new-push-for-patient-safety-leave-consumers-in-the-dark.html Today the federal government, with much fanfare, unveiled a new “Partnership for Patients” that aims to save 60,000 lives and as much as $35 billion over the next three years by making health care safer. Already, 500 hospitals have signed on to the effort, and the government is getting ready to hand out $1 billion in grants to health-care organizations to help them figure out the best ways to reduce mistakes like hospital infections, medication errors, or sloppy “discharge planning” that sends patients boomeranging back to the hospital soon after they go home. One aspect conspicuously missing from the rollout event: any mention of letting patients know how things are going. We talked to Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumer Reports’ Safe Patient Project, about... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704646 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:40:50 +0100 4704646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704648&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F04%2Fwhat-hospitals-can-learn-about-safety-from-southwest-airlines.html When Southwest Airlines recently learned that some of its planes had small cracks that could lead to gaping holes in mid-flight, it grounded the planes and ordered an independent safety review. Not perfect, maybe, but at least fast and transparent. In fact, over the past few decades the airline industry has developed a pretty good reputation for safety. I wish the same could be said for our hospitals. Unfortunately, a recent report in the journal Health Affairs suggests that there are lots of cracks even in good hospitals that can lead to gaping and potentially deadly holes in patient care. And unlike the airline industry, the study suggests that safeguards to detect and correct the cracks are inadequate. The study, by a team of researchers who have spent their careers trying to improv... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704648 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:00:00 +0100 4704648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696954&cid=t_190024_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F3Eb37NoKR6k%2F Hello, everyone, and nice to see you again. We hope the weekend was refreshing and enjoyable. Now, though, the routine of meetings and deadlines has returned. To cope, yes, we are brewing that mandatory cup of stimulation. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to get you going. Let us know if you hear anything interesting and have a great, productive day… Endo Pharma Buying American Medical For $2.6 Billion (Associated Press) Intercell Suspends Trial For MRSA Vaccine (Bloomberg News) Actress Sues Lilly For Using Her Face In Prozac Ad (New York Post) Novartis Stops Tasigna Trial In Patients With GIST (Reuters) Inspiration Pharma Eyes Plant In Ireland And 500 Jobs (Irish Post) Merck KGgA Considers Job Cuts At Serono Unit (Reuters) Merck And Sun Pharma Near Generics Deal (LiveMint) British M... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696954 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:51:13 +0100 4696954 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653324&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F03%2Fproper-cleaning-helps-prevent-hospital-infections.html A simple cleaning protocol can sharply curtail the spread of deadly antibiotic-resistant infections in the hospital, according to a study out this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine. That adds to some other simple measures previously proven to prevent hospital infections, including a checklist that emphasizes, among other things, that folks in the hospital regularly wash their hands. In the current study, researchers trained hospital staff in “enhanced” cleaning methods that involved immersing cleaning cloths in disinfectant rather than simply pouring the disinfectant over the cloths, and then shining a black-light over the area to see how effective the cleaning was. They focused on rooms where a patient had previously been infected with either methicillin-resistant ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653324 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:13:31 +0100 4653324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536059&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F03%2Fhospital-infections-declining-cr-analysis-and-cdc-report-suggest-preventing-hospital-infections.html Our updated analysis of hospital-acquired infections suggest that while things might not have improved much from a year ago, the trends are at least heading in the right direction. And a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mirrors that finding, showing a steady decline in some hospital infections over the past eight years. We looked at central-line infections, a particularly deadly form of infection, reported in 1,043 hospitals in 44 states plus the District of Columbia. It found that the percentage of facilities reporting no central-line infections in their intensive-care units increased slightly, from 11 percent in our March 2010 analysis to 13 percent in our current one. And among hospitals that reported in both years, the overall rate of infections... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536059 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:01:00 +0100 4536059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4424230&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F02%2Fhospital-infections-preventing-bloodstream-infections-simple-hospital-checklist-may-save-lives.html A program that includes a simple 5-step safety checklist for preventing bloodstream infections caused by large central-line catheters in hospital intensive-care units in Michigan appears to reduce patient deaths by 10 percent, according to a report published online this week in the British Medical Journal. The research team, led by Johns Hopkins professor and patient-safety crusader Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., compared Medicare data from 95 Michigan hospitals that used the checklist program, with those from 364 hospitals in the Midwest from October 2001 to December 2006. They found that patients in Michigan hospitals were 10 percent more likely to survive their hospital stay after the implementation of Pronovost’s checklist program compared with the patients in the 11 surroundin... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4424230 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:53:26 +0100 4424230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322501&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F01%2Fhospital-infections-in-children-new-studies-find-concerns-for-surgery-patients-and-children.html Two studies out recently suggest that one infection is on the rise in hospitalized children, and several are increasing among patients who have to wait in the hospital for elective surgery. Gastrointestinal infections in hospitalized childrenResearchers who examined nearly 10.5 million medical records found that a particularly dangerous infection with a bacterium called clostridium difficile is on the rise in hospitalized children. The infection can inflame and damage the lining of the colon, leading to severe diarrhea. In the current study, published online in the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the infection increased the risk of repeat hospitalization, surgery to remove all or part of the colon, and death. Previous research has found the infection is also becoming... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322501 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:00:00 +0100 4322501 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4287409&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F12%2Favandia-hospital-infections-gifts-to-doctors-dr-santas-12-tips-for-a-healthy-holiday-2.html Yes, my name really is Dr. Santa. (It’s Hungarian.) I like doctoring around the holidays—my name makes it fun, and a lot of important health issues come up then, too. I hope this series helps you navigate the season TIP 11 Lumps of coal for bad health ideas from 2010 It’s great the holidays end with a new year—we all get to start fresh. Not that 2010 was all bad. Most notably, the federal government finally dealt with one of the most glaring inequities in our society—the millions of us without health insurance coverage. Now more work needs to be done on getting some of the details right. Still, the past year had its share of bad ideas. Here are my health-care lumps of coal for 2010: • Brand-name drug marketing. For the last decade the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) wa... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4287409 Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0100 4287409 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245300&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F12%2Fprogress-against-deadly-infections-in-the-hospital.html Two separate research teams—one using a simple 5-step check list and the other sophisticated DNA tests (in mice)—reported progress this week against deadly bloodstream infections caused by large intravenous catheters used in hospital intensive care units. The checklist, developed by Johns Hopkins physician and patient-safety crusader Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., (see photo, at right), slashed the number of the infections in 23 Rhode Island ICUs by 74 percent, according to a study in the journal Quality and Safety in Health Care. It found that over a 2.5-year period, the list of common-sense steps that doctors should follow when using the catheters saved 10 lives, reduced ICU stays by 608 days, and saved about $2 million. Our report on hospital inspections found that the checklist, co... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245300 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:54:14 +0100 4245300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225236&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F12%2Fanother-strike-against-antibacterial-soap-and-bpa.html A study published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives provides more reasons to be wary of triclosan, found in many antibacterial soaps, and bisphenol A (BPA), used in some polycarbonate plastics and canned foods.  The study looked at 3,728 people nationwide and found that children and adolescents with higher levels of triclosan were more likely to be diagnosed with allergies or hay fever, both of which are caused by a malfunctioning immune system. The researchers suggest that the hygiene hypothesis—which posits that some exposure to bacteria helps train the immune system—might help explain the finding. Our previous report on triclosan-containing products, including cleaning supplies, deodorants, and wipes, concluded that they're not very effectiv... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225236 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:11:48 +0100 4225236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172052&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F11%2Fhospital-infection-rates-hospital-errors-still-common-preventing-hospital-infections.html Each month, one in seven Medicare patients whoare hospitalized suffer at least one “adverse event”. Despite a decade of media and public attention, medical errors in hospitals—including those that lead to serious harm and even death—continue an alarming rate, according to a major federal government study out this week. The study, by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, found that one in seven Medicare beneficiaries who are hospitalized each month suffer at least one “adverse event.” That comes to 134,000 people a month or 1.6 million a year. Of those, 15,000 people a month (180,000 a year) died as a direct result of the error or the error contributed to their death. The errors included surgical and catheter infections, drug-dosing... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172052 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:08:48 +0100 4172052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013179&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F09%2Fnew-infection-data-from-4-new-states-40-new-hospitals.html How well does your hospital prevent infections? You might be able to find out using our Hospital Ratings. We’ve just added publicly reported data from four states, and updated hundreds of hospitals nationwide. We now have infection data on 959 hospitals in 44 states, to go along with Ratings of hospitals in other categories, such as patient Ratings of doctor and nurse communication, cleanliness, attentiveness, pain control. Our infection Ratings focus specifically on central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI)—a type of hospital-acquired infection caused by the mishandling of a type of catheter often used on patients in intensive-care units (ICU)—and compare each hospital’s infection rate to national rates for that hospital’s type of ICUs. Our hospital Ratings pull t... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013179 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:43:47 +0100 4013179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987051&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F09%2Fmethicillin-resistant-staphylococcus-aureus-mrsa-progress-against-hospital-infections.html Our work on preventing hospital infections hit home recently during a visit with a family member undergoing heart bypass surgery. A nasal swab taken on admission tested positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a leading cause of deadly hospital-acquired infections. Early detection and aggressive measures helped prevent him from getting sick, and hopefully stopped the germ from spreading. As we reported in our article on hospital infections, the recently passed legislation on health-care reform requires hospitals to publicly report infection rates starting in 2011. And we just published ratings of surgical groups that do heart bypass surgery based on, among other things, their infection rates. Still, as my family’s experience shows, battling antibiotic-resistant g... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987051 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:00:00 +0100 3987051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907595&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F08%2Fask-president-obama-what-does-health-reform-mean-for-me.html Exciting news! We’ve just received an invitation from the White House to sit down next week for an in-person conversation with the President about the new law. But the invitation, we’re quite sure, is really meant for you, the American consumer. So here’s your chance to give us the questions you’d like President Obama to answer about the new law. Is there something you still don’t understand? Wondering when or whether your own health coverage might be affected? We’re interested in any and all suggestions. Obviously the President is a busy guy and our time with him is limited, so we probably won’t be able to make it through the whole list.  But we’ll do our best to get follow-up answers from the White House about questions that we don’t get to ask in the interview.... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907595 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:49:18 +0100 3907595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854516&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F08%2Favoiding-hospital-infections-wash-up-doc-tips-for-preventing-hospital-infections.html This article first appeared in the August 2010 issue of Consumer Reports On Health. Learn more about hospital infection rates in your state, and see our suggestions for asking your doctor or nurse to wash up! Are you following us on Facebook? (Source: Consumer Reports Health Blog) Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854516 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:51:48 +0100 3854516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3812967&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F08%2Fhospital-infections-reporting-new-rules-to-help-you-choose-a-safer-hospital.html Soon it will be easier for you to find out how well your hospital prevents certain infections. As part of the new health care reform law, the Department of Health and Human Services will require hospitals to publicly disclose several types of dangerous hospital infections. To ensure full cooperation, the government will boost Medicare payments to hospitals that go along with the new requirements. "Patients shouldn't have to worry about getting sicker with an infection they catch in the hospital, but every year nearly two million Americans do," said Lisa McGiffert, Director of Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project. "Making infection rates public is a powerful motivator for hospitals to improve care and keep patients safe."Starting in January of 2011, hospitals... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3812967 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:39:57 +0100 3812967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733078&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F07%2Fyou-can-help-prevent-hospital-infections.html Can’t find infection Ratings for your hospital? Ask them why. If you’ve used our hospital Ratings (subscribers), you know we rate hospitals based on many criteria, including patient satisfaction, its approach to chronic care, whether it follows the best infection prevention measures, and its rate of central-line infections. But sometimes we can’t rate central-line infections because a hospital refuses to make that data available. Central-line infections are an important measure. They’re dangerous, causing about 30 percent of the 99,000 estimated deaths each year related to hospital-acquired infections. And they’re almost completely preventable—but many hospitals fail to put measures in place to stop them. We have infection Ratings for 926 hospitals in 43 states, but many hospi... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733078 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:19:10 +0100 3733078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706667&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F06%2Fhospital-infections-las-vegas-dont-gamble-with-your-health-in-vegas.html A two-year investigation has found that the odds of getting safe medical care in Las Vegas hospitals aren’t as good as they should be. Reporters for the Las Vegas Sun collected a decade’s worth of billing records, as well as a government database detailing 425,000 inpatient visits. This information, they wrote, “tells a story of preventable harm, deadly infections and apparent neglect at a rate of at least one injury per day,” including 21 cases in which patients had objects left inside their bodies, 79 cases of advanced bed sores (pressure ulcers), and 475 central-line infections during 2008 and 2009.“These are events that no one can be proud of," said our own John Santa, M.D., M.P.H, director of Consumer Reports’ Health Ratings Center, in the report. "They aren’t ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706667 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:05:49 +0100 3706667 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599513&cid=t_190024_111_f&fid=39123&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fnursingcomments%2Ftdtc%2F%7E3%2FydhgdxaStUA%2F           A couple of months ago I wrote about hospital-acquired infections – who is susceptible, what causes them, how they are spread, the most common types and steps to prevent the infections.  Today, HAI (Hospital-Acquired Infection or Healthcare-Associated Infection) continues to soar in hospitals all over the world!  This is a global crisis affecting patients, their visitors and healthcare personnel.  I had an email from Barbara Dunn the other day and she has been instrumental in setting up a wonderful website, through Kimberly-Clark Healthcare, entitled “Not on My Watch” at http://www.haiwatch.com/   This site is joining in an effort to educate patients, healthcare professionals and the general public on the dangers of these preventable infections and to protect... Nursing Comments blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599513 Tue, 25 May 2010 16:47:49 +0100 3599513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581601&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F05%2Fimplantable-contacts-are-safer-than-laser-eye-surgery.html About six months ago, after a routine eye test, the optician told me I needed glasses. I have to wear them to drive, but at times when I’d rather go without, I can manage reasonably well. My friends accuse me of wearing them mainly in an attempt to look more intelligent. If I were more severely short-sighted and wanted to avoid glasses or contacts, one option would have been laser eye surgery. Many people get fantastic results from laser surgery, but it’s not risk free. Some people end up with worse sight, and problems with night vision can make driving in the dark much more difficult. The FDA has a useful checklist for people considering this procedure, describing the possible downsides. For a few years now, there’s been another option. A surgical procedure can place an artificial... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581601 Thu, 20 May 2010 15:00:00 +0100 3581601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3471781&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F04%2Ffeds-report-rise-in-most-hospital-infections.html Know anyone who went to the hospital for a routine surgery and picked up an infection that made them much sicker than their original problem? Yesterday, the federal government finally expressed some alarm at how many preventable infections are acquired by patients in U.S. hospitals. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s annual National Healthcare Quality Report, released yesterday, showed that health care-acquired infections increased from 2008 to 2009—an 8% rise in postoperative sepsis, 4% more urinary tract infections connected with catheter use for adult surgical patients, and no improvement in the rate of bloodstream infections associated with central lines. Only the rate of postoperative pneumonia appears to be dropping—by 12%. The report outlines many other flaws in ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3471781 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:15:00 +0100 3471781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3435046&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F04%2Fhospital-safety-6-steps-forward-8-steps-back-medical-errors-patient-safety-mrsa-hospital-infections.html Your hospital may not be as safe as you think it is. A newly released analysis of medical errors among Medicare beneficiaries has found mixed results. Overall, U.S. hospitals have made strides on cutting down six types of medical errors, but have slid backwards on eight measures. The report released this week by HealthGrades, looked at 15 types of medical mistakes affecting Medicare patients between 2006 and 2008. It found nearly one million errors affecting 908,401 Medicare patients over that span. Of the nearly 100,000 of those patients who died, the report estimates that 96,402 of those deaths "could be directly attributable to a patient safety event." That means that Medicare patients who experience such errors have a one-in-ten chance of dying, the report says. These findin... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3435046 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:13:17 +0100 3435046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335292&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F03%2Fwould-medical-malpractice-reform-fix-our-healthcare-system.html A lot of people seem to believe that malpractice lawsuits are the main culprit behind soaring health-care costs. They argue that the direct cost of medical malpractice lawsuits, and, even more, doctors’ fear of being sued, leads to "defensive medicine,"—unnecessary tests and procedures to protect doctors from lawsuits. But would reforming our tort system, by for example, capping the amount plaintiffs can receive for pain and suffering and other jury awards, actually save enough money to control overall health care costs?Perhaps surprisingly, the evidence is that it wouldn’t. The direct cost of malpractice insurance premiums and court verdicts, plus the cost of defensive medicine, together account for less than 2 percent of overall health-care spending, according to a 2009 s... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335292 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:13:37 +0100 3335292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290807&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F02%2Fnow-its-getting-interestingis-more-health-care-always-better.html We welcome the controversy sparked by this week’s New England Journal of Medicine article and reported by the New York Times regarding the hospital intensity data published by the Dartmouth Atlas and used in Consumer Reports hospital ratings. It is our hope that this encourages U.S. hospitals and doctors to make better information available on the quality, costs, and results of various types of medical treatments so that consumers can make better choices. For decades the independent studies conducted by the Dartmouth Atlas have been raising concerns that hospitals in some regions of the country used two or three times the medical and financial resources than those in other regions on treating Medicare patients with chronic diseases, with no noticeable increase in life span or qual... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290807 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:32:00 +0100 3290807 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3266902&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F02%2Fcongressmans-death-is-a-grim-reminder-of-medical-errors.html We learned earlier this week that Pennsylvania U.S. Congressman John Murtha died as a result of complications from recent gallbladder removal surgery. A few days later, it was reported that the deadly “complications” were followed by a surgical cut to his intestines that caused an infection and further complications, leading to the Congressman’s death at age 77. Our colleagues at Consumers Union’s Safe Patient Project highlight the dirty truth behind many errors and infections: Many are preventable by implementing a few basic practices, such as the simple checklist advocated by surgeon Atul Gawande, M.D.  Better planning and communication when patients are discharged is another way to keep patients safer and reduce high readmission rates. It might feel like few of us ha... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3266902 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:41:28 +0100 3266902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239561&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F02%2Fthe-cdc-thinks-you-should-know-if-your-hospital-is-giving-people-infections-hospital-safey.html When you go to the hospital you expect to be treated for the condition you already have. The last thing you want is to get even sicker. Unfortunately, patients acquire about 1.7 million infections every year in U.S. hospitals, most of them preventable. The latest issue of Consumer Reports investigates a serious and common problem that is responsible for at least 30 percent of the nation’s 99,000 deaths from hospital-acquired infections. The problem is bloodstream infections introduced through central lines. A central line is a long flexible catheter threaded through a vein leading to a blood vessel near the heart and used to deliver medications, fluids and nutrition to critically ill patients. Studies have shown the risk of these serious, sometimes deadly infections can be nearly elimina... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239561 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:17:33 +0100 3239561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231475&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F02%2Fhospital-infections-to-find-the-best-hospitals-data-needs-to-be-publicly-available-how-to-be-a-safe-.html My mother used to say you don’t know what worry means until you have a child. One dreary day in 1999 my husband and I learned how right Mom was when we had to hospitalize our infant for "minor" surgery, and the anxiety was unlike anything we’d ever suffered. Of course we worried about the big hazards, like a surgery mishap. But we also worried about the smaller mistakes like a nurse forgetting to wash his hands or the anesthesiologist miscalculating the dose. Unfortunately, we weren’t just paranoid new parents. Not only are mistakes like these commonplace, they’re much more likely in some hospitals than others. And if you choose a hospital that performs poorly, you put yourself at much higher risk. We had no way of knowing whether we picked a hospital prone to such mista... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231475 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:53:23 +0100 3231475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212325&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2010%2F01%2Fcus-president-on-the-state-of-the-union.html This week, President Obama will give his State of the Union address.  If you tune in Wednesday night, you'll see the familiar scene of the nation’s leader speaking to a joint session of Congress.  Up in the gallery, looking down at the House chamber below, will be people from many walks of life: reporters, schoolchildren, service men and women, business executives, individuals representing causes that run all across the political spectrum.   I've been fortunate, as the President of Consumers Union, to be invited to be one of those people in the gallery to listen to the President report on the condition of our country and lay out an agenda for the future.  Consumers Union is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.  We answer to cons... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212325 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:00:41 +0100 3212325 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003758&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2009%2F11%2Fpreventable-hospital-infections-to-err-is-human-but-to-delay-is-deadly-safe-patient-project-webcast.html Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released To Err is Human, reporting that as many as 98,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical errors. Today, on the report’s 10-year-anniversary, Consumer’s Union Safe Patient Project is hosting a forum in Washington, DC to call attention to the fact that today, we’re no safer that we were 10 years ago and to draw attention to their report To Err is Human – To Delay is Deadly which estimates that preventable medical harm still accounts for over 100,000 deaths each year. The event will be attended by prominent patient safety leaders to discuss what needs to happen to keep patients safe, including former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill, who wrote a recent op-ed in the New York Times on medical harm; Arthur Levin,... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003758 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:49:48 +0100 3003758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2871588&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2009%2F10%2Fcatch-flu-influenza-mask-contamination-sneeze-cough-h1n1.html Hate it when somebody coughs right into your face and eyes? You're not just germ-phobic, that may be the most likely way to transmit influenza, according to a newly published study. Researchers from UC-Berkley’s School of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health concluded that close contact spraying of respiratory droplets with the influenza virus carried the greatest risk of infection, followed by hand contact with contaminated surfaces, and inhaling particles carrying the virus. The study was published in Risk Analysis: An International Journal published by the nonprofit Society for Risk Analysis, and used mathematical modeling to examine the theoretical risk of catching an influenza A virus—a type of influenza virus that includes the n... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2871588 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:39:41 +0100 2871588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691437&cid=t_190024_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2009%2F08%2Fyou-never-know-whats-coming-for-ya.html I finally saw the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this weekend and woke to a bright morning thinking the movie’s refrain “You never know what’s coming for ya.” So I was primed for the unexpected as I read the troubling content on Dead By Mistake, a site that features the results of a Hearst investigative report on medical errors. The site’s most compelling feature is the set of 30 profiles and heart wrenching photos of lives lost unexpectedly under circumstances that certainly seemed preventable. This new content echoes the report we released in May as part of our Safe Patient Project.  Our report, To Err is Human—To Delay is Deadly, looks at specific infection-preventing practices state by state and the status of legislation to make hospital ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691437 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:21:19 +0100 2691437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1909218&cid=t_190024_177_f&fid=38133&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FTubalReversalBlog%2F%7E3%2F286469509%2Finfection-risks-tubal-reversal.html In a recent email inquiry, someone asked if it would be safer to have tubal reversal surgery in a hospital. My response - “It is much safer to have tubal reversal surgery performed at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center than in a hospital.” Infection and Medication Error Risks in Hospitals Roughly 100,000 people wind up with a [...] (Source: Tubal Reversal Blog) Tubal Reversal Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1909218 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:20:38 +0100 1909218