patient safety News

Medtronic Ends U.S. Medical Device Probes with $51 Million Payment

Medtronic Plc said on Tuesday it would pay $50.9 million to resolve U.S. Justice Department probes into how companies it later acquired marketed medical devices, including one meant to treat a vascular defect in the brain. As part of the …

Michigan Medical Center with Dirty Surgical Tool Issues Makes Changes

Officials say the Detroit Medical Center has spent $1.2 million since September to correct problems with dirty surgical instruments and has put multiple systems in place to ensure patient safety. The Detroit News reports that the update follows recent revelations …

Making It Possible for Hospitals to Be Honest About Medical Errors

Medical errors in U.S. hospitals kill tens of thousands of patients each year, and even more suffer injury because of mistakes by doctors or nurses. Not every case of harm is avoidable—patients may get an infection even if doctors do …

Report Cites Failure to Prevent Unsafe Medical Devices That Spread Superbugs

America’s system for ensuring that medical devices are safe failed at every turn when dirty endoscopes began spreading deadly superbugs, according to a Senate investigation released today. The report, from Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, blames device manufacturers, hospitals, …

U.S. Hospitals Improve Patient Safety: Report

Fewer patients are dying from conditions acquired while staying in the nation’s hospitals, according to a new federal report. Statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) show that an estimated 87,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and …

Several California Hospitals Given Low Patient Safety Grades

Nearly 40 percent of California hospitals earned low ratings for patient safety in a recent national assessment. The Los Angeles Times reported that nonprofit The Leapfrog Group issued a national report card Wednesday that gave nearly four in 10 California …

Do Big Malpractice Awards Really Increase Medical Costs?

A jury in one of New York’s most conservative counties recently returned a $130 million verdict in a medical-malpractice case, the second-largest in the state’s history. Lawyers for the losing hospital decried a “jury out of control” and called for …

Oklahoma’s Dental Law Lacking Enforcement Clout

Oklahoma’s Dental Act was intended to ensure patient safety, but limited funding for regulators, a small staff and a state prohibition against surprise inspections restrict its effectiveness when there’s trouble. The state Dentistry Board claims a Tulsa-area oral surgeon ran …

Sandy Exposed Hospitals’ Lack of Disaster Preparedness

Kim Bondy was in New Orleans seven years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, and scores of patients died in flooded hospitals cut off from power. She never thought that she might face that danger herself. But on Monday …

Electronic Medical Records Not Without Risks to Patient Safety: Report

The nation’s transition to electronic medical records, now in full swing, risks overlooking potential patient safety problems, independent advisers warned the Obama administration in a report this week. Computerized medical records have been sold as a powerful tool to improve …