For decades, one of the primary testing grounds for medical residents were the overnight shifts at the hospital. That’s because there were no attending physicians present, meaning they were forced to make decisions on their own, something experts said provided them with not just the necessary experience, but also confidence in their abilities. This arrangement […]
We now know more than ever about the serious health risk posed by allergies to things like nuts, dairy, wheat and shellfish thanks to the tireless efforts of advocacy groups, government officials and, of course, concerned citizens. Indeed, you now see food packaging clearly outlining any potential allergens, restaurant menus listing ingredients of which allergy […]
Thanks to the efforts of government officials and the medical community, we are now more aware than ever of the threat posed by hospital-acquired infections and, perhaps more importantly, the steps that health care professionals can — and should — take to help stop their spread in otherwise high-risk facilities like clinics and hospitals. Indeed, […]
Parents living in and around the Pittsburgh metropolitan area are fortunate in that they have access to the emergency room of a state-of-the-art children’s hospital in the event the unthinkable happens. However, it’s important to understand that not everyone here in Pennsylvania, or even across the U.S. has this option. Indeed, statistics show that on […]
While hospitals and other medical facilities have adopted some cutting edge approaches to combating the spread of infections over the years, they still rely heavily on such time-tested techniques as surgical scrubs, hand soap and hand sanitizers. Interestingly enough, however, one of these three weapons in the never-ending fight against germs is now the subject […]
While operating rooms across the U.S. are almost always changing thanks to the semi-regular development of new processes and enhanced surgical tools, this transformation has become especially dramatic over the last ten years thanks to the advent of robotic surgical systems like the da Vinci. As we discussed in a previous post, the da Vinci, […]
Patient safety advocacy groups, medical professionals and hospital officials have all come to appreciate the periodic reports issued by the Pennsylvania-based ECRI Institute for their valuable insight into how to make facilities and procedures safer for patients. As it turns out, the organization recently released its second annual Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare […]
Both state and federal health officials have long known about the serious risks posed by hospital-acquired infections, which are responsible for thousands of patient deaths per year. However, despite this knowledge and the understanding that something more needs to be done, HAIs continue to emerge and continue to pose a deadly threat. Consider the recent […]
To say that the choice of hospital to undergo a surgery “can mean the difference between life and death” may seem a bit disconcerting and perhaps even a bit overly dramatic. However, that’s exactly what one patient safety advocacy group said in a recently published study, which determined that the survival rates for four high-risk […]
Our last post started discussing how many hospitals across the U.S. are now implementing innovative measures in an attempt to limit their exposure to so-called “adverse medical events,” which can affect both their professional reputation and their profits. In today’s post, we’ll continue this discussion, examining some of the other steps being implemented by hospitals […]
