http://www.safepatientproject.org/content_type/blog_post/ The Safe Patient Project is a Consumers Union campaign focused on eliminating medical harm, improving FDA oversight of prescription drugs and promoting disclosure laws that give information to consumers about health care safety and quality. en Copyright 2010 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:37:54 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a very clear statement today on public reporting of infection rates, prompted by the Consumer Reports article “Deadly Infections” – a real step forward!

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2010/02/cdc_endorses_public_reporting.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2010/02/cdc_endorses_public_reporting.html Blog Post Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:37:54 -0600 Hospital-acquired infections rarely make national headlines, but today, “Deadly infections” hits magazine racks across America in the March 2010 issue of Consumer Reports, published by Consumers Union.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2010/02/hospitals_get_with_the_program.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2010/02/hospitals_get_with_the_program.html Blog Post Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:49:09 -0600 The Joint Commission (a private membership and hospital accreditation body) has released its 2009 Annual Report on Quality and Safety providing a summary of rates for performance measures for a number of evidence-based treatments for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care between 2002 and 2008.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2010/01/joint_commission_time_to_highl.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2010/01/joint_commission_time_to_highl.html Blog Post Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:31:27 -0600 On November 17, Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project is hosting a forum in Washington DC based on the 10-year anniversary of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) study on medical errors, “To Err Is Human.”

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/11/delaying_is_deadlyjoin_our_pat.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/11/delaying_is_deadlyjoin_our_pat.html Blog Post Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:07:44 -0600 If your hospital had a blog, would you read it? More importantly, would you expect to see information that every patient deserves – such as hospital infection rates or harmful medical errors happening there?

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/10/hospitals_in_the_blogosphere.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/10/hospitals_in_the_blogosphere.html Blog Post Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:11:54 -0600 Learn about MRSA from the people who have had personal experiences with this harmful superbug.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/10/lets_talk_about_mrsa.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/10/lets_talk_about_mrsa.html Blog Post Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:09:00 -0600 What if a fun trip to the beach meant you’d be exposed to MRSA? As recently reported by USA TODAY, researchers have identified this antibiotic-resistant MRSA superbug on five beaches in Washington State.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/09/mrsa_at_the_beach.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/09/mrsa_at_the_beach.html Blog Post Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:34:46 -0600 You’ve heard of UFOs but have you heard of RFOs? 194 Pennsylvanians could tell you about their RFO encounter last year – that’s how many cases of “retained foreign objects” were reported to that state’s Patient Safety Authority in 2008.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/09/rfo_encounters_in_pennsylvania.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/09/rfo_encounters_in_pennsylvania.html Blog Post Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:42:08 -0600 A new documentary, Money-Driven Medicine, offers a thoughtful perspective to the health care reform debate that couldn’t be timelier.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/watch_moneydriven_medicine.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/watch_moneydriven_medicine.html Blog Post Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:30:35 -0600 Read and sign the Patient Safety Advocates' Statement on Health Care Reform.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/patient_safety_advocates_speak.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/patient_safety_advocates_speak.html Blog Post Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:06 -0600 Check out this new collection of medical errors reporting: "Dead by Mistake"

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/dead_by_mistake_1.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/dead_by_mistake_1.html Blog Post Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:53:02 -0600 In 140 characters on Twitter, I asked a serious question about hospital-acquired infections.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/my_tweet_to_secretary_sebelius.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/08/my_tweet_to_secretary_sebelius.html Blog Post Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:38:13 -0600 Our message caught on! A coalition of House Democrats have included public reporting of hospital-acquired infections in their reform bill (HR 3200), and reducing payment to hospitals that aren’t doing enough to prevent infections.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/07/house_health_reform_bill_tackl.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/07/house_health_reform_bill_tackl.html Blog Post Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:37:56 -0600 Join patient safety advocates across the country tomorrow to observe Patient Safety Day.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/07/in_honor_of_patients.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/07/in_honor_of_patients.html Blog Post Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:33:43 -0600 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last Thursday that it has added readmission rates for more than 4,000 hospitals across the U.S to its Hospital Compare website. With proper care, most people should not have to go back to the hospital shortly after release. This is a key indicator of quality and varies a lot between hospitals.

]]> http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/07/medicare_releases_data_on_hosp.html http://www.safepatientproject.org/2009/07/medicare_releases_data_on_hosp.html Blog Post Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:43:42 -0600