Wrote a
new post this morning in response to a new article in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It reported (almost incredulously) that patient-reports of adverse events are much higher than hospital records indicate. Well, duh! Why do you think that is?
DK
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Added by dk on December 7, 2009 at 2:11pm —
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I'm celebrating the Sharp End today over on the HealthCare PSI Blog, with
this post featuring the staff of Providence St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, Oregon. It'll make you smile!
Thanks for Reading -
DK
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Added by dk on December 2, 2009 at 2:36pm —
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Thought I'd post a gentle reminder of our place in the healthcare universe as debate beings in Washington this week. I hate to sound cynical, but...
Click here to read.
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Added by dk on November 30, 2009 at 3:34pm —
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I get inquiries every week from writers with something to say about patient safety. Today, I published a guest post from Jennifer Johnson, a nurse practioner who writes for an educational website.
I do accept guest posts for the HealthCare PSI Blog, so if you'd like to be considered just drop me a line!
Click here to read Jennifer Johnson's post.
As always, thank…
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Added by dk on November 23, 2009 at 12:35pm —
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Today I wrote
this post on the common healthcare industry practice of not telling patients if they have been the victims of preventable medical errors. This is a hot button issue for me, and it should be for every activist here at Wego. It drives me crazy that, instead of taking steps to stop rampant preventable medical errors, hospitals have instead chosen to cover…
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Added by dk on November 13, 2009 at 3:56pm —
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If you've been following the CT scan radiation overdose story out of Cedars-Sinai, then this latest development is probably not new to you. For those who haven't heard, Cedars-Sinai subjected some 260 CT scan patients to dangerous levels of radiation over a period of 18 months. Seems everyone in the CT scan department failed to notice the machine was set incorrectly.
This week at least 50 of those patients were notified of yet another problem.…
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Added by dk on November 11, 2009 at 3:49pm —
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Hey fellow healthcare activists! I've been following the story of wrong site surgeries at Rhode Island Hospital; the state finally took action this week, but will it make any difference? I'd love your take. You can read what I wrote on the subject here on Wego in this blog's left column, or
click here to read the post at HealthCare PSI.
As always, your comments are welcome…
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Added by dk on November 6, 2009 at 1:19pm —
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I wrote a post today over on the HealthCare PSI Blog (also in my left sidebar here on Wego!) about the Joint Commission's latest greatest idea to combat H1N1 and other communicable germs. I was not impressed. However, I would love your take on this new initiative aimed at kids... today's kids, not kids from the 1950's. Okay, I've said enough. Just
go read.
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Added by dk on November 2, 2009 at 4:33pm —
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I wrote a post today over on the HealthCare PSI Blog about the steps one US company has implemented to combat the deadly menace of HAIs (hospital acquired infections.) Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies, Scott towels and a host of other household brands is leading the way in this battle and I thought you'd like to know about their new program.
Click here to read toda…
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Added by dk on October 26, 2009 at 2:32pm —
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Heads up, guys. HealthGrades new hospital ratings for Fall 2010 are out. The hospitals in my area did LOUSY, as usual, which is why I'm now bloggin' about patient safety. I've posted the link to the report
here on the HealthCare PSI Blog. Hope you find it enlightening and helpful!
DK
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Added by dk on October 14, 2009 at 1:51pm —
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Today's post is of special interest to kidney dialysis patients, their families and friends. I'm posting links to 2 disturbing articles on the state of the dialysis industry on the HealthCare PSI Blog. As always, you can find it in the left sidebar of my Wego Health page, or you can
click here to visit the PSI Blog.
Thanks for reading, and I welcome your perspective.
DK
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Added by dk on October 2, 2009 at 7:30am —
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Today on the HealthCare PSI Blog I'm taking a closer look at the Joint Commission's recently announced Center for Transforming Healthcare. (cue angel choir) Yeah, I'm a little suspicious of the timing. Let's hope I'm wrong on this one.
Click here to read the post.. and tell me what you think.
Thanks for reading -
DK
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Added by dk on September 30, 2009 at 4:31pm —
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I know, horror stories are supposed to be reserved for Halloween! Well, October is just around the corner, so I think this post is appropriate. It's the latest Bad Medicine roundup of healthcare horror stories making the news. You can read the post here in my left sidebar, or
click here to visit the HealthCare PSI Blog.
As always, your comments are welcome!
Thanks for reading -
DK
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Added by dk on September 26, 2009 at 4:00pm —
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You remember last summer when Medicare made the big announcement that it would no longer pay hospitals to fix the damage done by certain kiinds of preventable medical errors? Well, a new study concludes that this highly publicized program has already failed. Chalk up another win for the healthcare industry blunt end, and another loss for patients.
Click here to read today's HealthCare…
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Added by dk on September 24, 2009 at 10:33am —
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Just a quick note to say "thank you!" to Team Wego for commissioning this survey. Yes, I did get to participate :) I've posted a link to the survey on HealthCare PSI's Twitter page for my readers to see.
Go Wego!
DK
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Added by dk on September 23, 2009 at 1:03pm —
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Don't know if you've been following the Hurricane Katrina incident involving hospital staff members of Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans who gave lethal drug overdoses to some 18 patients. I posted a video interview today over on HealthCare PSI on the story and I thought you'd like to give it a look.
This story has serious implications - don't they all anymore - and I'd love some input.…
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Added by dk on September 14, 2009 at 8:54pm —
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Hello, fellow Activists! Newsflash here - We've just published our hospital Hall of Shame list for 2009 over on Healthcare PSI (also in this page's sidebar) It was so large this year, we published in two parts. Here are the links in case you want to visit the home page:
2009 Hall of Shame Part One…
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Added by dk on September 1, 2009 at 4:30pm —
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Today on the HealthCare PSI Blog I'm writing about another high-profile, powerful, completely ineffective agency - The Joint Commission. I have been told by numerous people-in-the-know that this governing body's function has absolutely nothing to do with its stated mission, which is to protect patient safety by enforcing hospital care standards. Oh yeah, I'm writing about Dime Store Turtles today, too. I'll bet you're wondering what Dime Store Turtles have to do with The Joint Commission. Read…
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Added by dk on August 19, 2009 at 10:52am —
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I read a story in the Baltimore Sun a few days ago that stuck with me; you know, it's the kind of story you just can't get out of your head.
Well, I wrote a post about it today over my blog at HealthCare PSI. It's in my sidebar here, but it's so important, I thought I'd call your attention to it. No family should ever be treated this way by a hospital. I'd like your thoughts....
Today's Post:
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Added by dk on August 12, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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Hey, I don't know how many of you follow hospital reports for death rates (sounds kinda creepy, I know) but
USAToday has the most comprehensive analysis available to the public for more than 4.600 hospitals. Their latest survey includes numbers for death by heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia, plus readmission rates for the same conditions.
These numbers - collected by the government for Medicare patients - are a great indicator of just how high the Standard of Care is at your loca…
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Added by dk on July 15, 2009 at 2:02pm —
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