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Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 | 2 a.m.
A recent report, “Call to Action: Safeguarding the Integrity of Healthcare Quality and Safety Systems” is tragically revealing. The report cites incidence of hospital mismanagement, intimidation and retaliation against those who complain and staff whistle-blowers. In one hospital, the most profitable surgeon had complication and mortality rates two to three times the national average. A staffer who complained to administration about it was asked to resign. The 1999 Institute of Medicine report estimated that over 70,000 patients die every year in our country’s hospitals as a result of preventable errors. Further, a health care watchdog organization found 65 percent of ...
Bravo! Great letter Mr. Dinkins. I concur 100%.
This is the price of corporate for profit hospitals and insurance industry control of our healthcare system. Workers and patients have no power or voice.
Only a single payer universal healthcare system has the possibility of cleaning up the mess we have now.
Peacelily said it well to which I would add this: We, as a country, need to treat and recognize healthcare as a societal service rather than just another business.
So this is what Obamacare price control results in.
Under Obamacare things are getting worse and worse.
Doctors and Hospital forced to work for less then the cost to provide the service.
Hospitals are are buying up Doctor practices to attempt to lower cost
Doctors rejecting retirees covered by Medicare.
But be do have FREE ABORTIONS AND PILLS
How can we forgive the gift that Obama has ramroded down on us
In another two year we will not recognize healthcare in the country
You have to measure it to manage it. Sadly, these hospital errors/shortcomings are not universally tracked and monitored except on an as needed basis for report purposes and site visits. Unless and until these conditions are made a part of the overall hospital managerial operational oversight, things won't change. In fact they will get worse.
CarmineD
Great letter to the editor Mr. Dinkins, and a superb follow-up post by "PeaceLily".
I agree that business for profit and healthcare do not mix well. The patients care is going to finish second without question in many cases.
I've lost way too many friends and acquaintances that have just gone into a hospital for simple treatments and or procedures and lost their lives.
However, on the other hand, I've had the distinct honor of being in the hands of some most dedicated and honorable nurses and physician's assistant's. Although, I can't say the same about most physicians.
But here you go Clyde, a real group of medical personnel who are unquestionably constantly safeguarding the integrity of healthcare quality.
THE MARINES NAVY CORPSMAN (DOC's)
These medical professionals have well earned time and time again the "Five Stars of Trust and Care". A navy corpsman is everything great that a United States Marine is, and so much more. It is not surprising that these medical corpsman have the most varied, and challenging military occupations. Their ratings have well earned them more decorations than any other in the U.S. Navy.
I've seen these navy corpsman perform absolute medical miracles in life-saving techniques in the midst of some pretty dangerous and brutal environments. There is no one, of whom I respect and trust more with my life than a navy corpsman.
Trust me on this; if you desire the most reliable, personal and professional medical care; if you should ever come across a medical staffer who has a background as a military corpsman, from any branch of our armed services, hold on to them tight; because you'll never be in better hands.
What the letter writer is describing has been going on for years. Our health care system and financial services industry are totally corrupt. It's all about greed and maximizing profits. Nothing more.
The infection rates, the ratio of nurses per patient in many hospitals is appalling. But they have no qualms about sending out the million-dollar hospital bill.
Many hospitals don't want to pay the benefits required for full-time nursing staff. They contract out the nursing function in the hospital. Especially in emergency rooms. You have nurses working in different hospitals nearly every day. They don't even know where the supplies are. People aren't able to work harmoniously together because they don't even know each other.This affects the quality of patient care especially in a life-threatening emergency
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/12/10...
Here's one out of LA that just hit the wire. Maybe if a surgeon has a highly infectious skin condition he shouldn't have his hand inside people's chests. Cedars is one of the better hospitals.
Bradley's comment about Navy corpsmen not withstanding (and I agree 100% with him on that) there is no guarantee that a government run single-payer system would be any better. One has only to remember the fiasco at Walter Reed to see that serious problems could (and probably would) still be present.
As wonderful as many VA hospitals can be, one can still hear horror stories about treatment plans and staff.
Whether it be a private or public facility, there is ever increasing pressure applied to control costs brought about by not only the skyrocketing costs of medicine itself and equipment, but the sheer amount of new treatments/procedures that must be supported.
It should come as no surprise that if one has no choice but to pay higher prices for those items, then corners will be cut elsewhere.
Bush and McCain go to Government hospitals like Walter Reed
Heller voted against the UN disability treaty, he is man without any human compassion whatsoever and gets his medical care from the taxpayers. He is a paid puppet of demonic billionaires and is a stain on the state of Nevada.
Sandoval (also get medical care from taxpayers for his family) should extend medicare for poor people who work real jobs.
In reply to "boftx"; either medical system, whether private industry or government run that is "too big" leads to huge problems. It is purely inevitable. Using navy corpsman as an example, yes, although they are a part of the big military machine, the majority of them are kept in positions where they are distanced from these huge medical centers, such as Walter Reed. So, in turn, their medical care that they provide is personal and extremely beneficial to both the caregiver and the patient.
"Too Big" is no good, whether private or government run. I'll take a small clinic any day over the big and powerful medical facilities.
Should anyone ever want to see a top notch run medical facility, go visit a U.S. Navy run "hospital ship". It has all the modern technological advancements and well trained medical personnel. Not too big, and not too small. You are guaranteed some of the best emergency medical care there is.
Take this same model and mold it into local and community settings, and healthcare in America can and will become one of the best in the world again.
Bradley makes very good points about military medical personnel.
Some of the best surgeons got their experience in military hospitals during a war. The wounds are so severe that they get experience other doctors don't get.
Non-physician medical personnel can turn their experience into becoming physicians, or physician's assistants who have a good deal of responsibility.
If I had a choice of a surgeon, it would be one who served in a war zone.
In general, hospitals in the DOD system have had a good reputation for quality care and training.
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Carmine, as far as measuring and managing goes, there is so much measuring and analysis in hospitals and insurance companies that it is beyond belief.
The problem resides with the insurance companies, hospital and physician committee management that decides on what action to take. The problem is when they have profits or hospital and professional reputations to protect, over the patients welfare, as well as staffing and training. Even the potential for lawsuits is of lesser importance.
Action will probably be taken when there is money to save versus increased cost. The latter gets ignored or denied.
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boftx, thorough worldwide studies have shown that the quality of healthcare services, life expectancy and less medical errors are best in most of the industrialized countries with universal healthcare. The US does not rate as good as people think.
At the moment, because of the austerity measures that the EU has undertaken, the universal systems are being cut back, more or less depending on the country, so it isn't a good time to measure. Under normal economic times, we don't measure up by comparison, except in one area...cancer treatment.
That may change with cuts to Medicare and in private insurance companies by limiting services and treatments in policy benefits to increase profits. I would expect our statistics will change. Also, people may not be able to afford the best policies, and have to settle for a more limited benefit structure.
The price of a US life related to profits and cost savings. They can determine who lives and who dies.
That is one of the reasons I support a patients right to choose euthanasia over debilitating tortuous pain until they die a "natural" death. I also think there needs to be an appropriate evaluations and a determination made as to the validity of such a choice over available treatments.
There is so much gaming of the costs across all of healthcare and it is only controlled to a limited degree in some areas because we don't have a universal healthcare system. At the moment, the federal government is best at controlling costs through a very complex process. I can't even imagine how much healthcare would cost without Medicare and the DOD, both of which have the better quality and cost control than private insurance.
"Carmine, as far as measuring and managing goes, there is so much measuring and analysis in hospitals and insurance companies that it is beyond belief." @ peacelily
I believe these areas of hospital and doctor care [mistakes, errors, oversights in hygiene, etc] are not consistently monitored and reported by hospitals separately and collectively. Except when an outside review and/or site visit is made [for cause]. At that point, the damage is already done.
If you measure and manage proactively and on an ongoing basis, and report to the PUBLIC, there is less likelihood that these occurences will continue. And more importantly increase and become problematic. Look at Dr. Desai! Who was measuring and managing the reuse of needles at his clinics?
CarmineD