“Deny and defend” has become an indefensible approach to medical error.

http://goo.gl/W1zu7H

Several hospitals around the country, notably the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois at Chicago, have adopted the so-called communication and resolution approach to unexpected patient harm.

This approach emphasizes rapid reporting of harm events, rapid communication with patients and families, and rapid investigations to identify possible system failures and to determine whether or not the patient was harmed by inappropriate care.

When an investigation reveals inappropriate care, the health professionals who were involved meet with the patient and family, admit liability, describe in detail what happened, apologize and offer emotional support, and maintain contact for ongoing communications.

Depending on the nature and severity of the harm, the hospital will often waive fees and charges related to the care that caused the harm, waive fees for subsequent care to remedy the harm, and offer financial settlements to compensate patients and families for pain and suffering and for the cost of ongoing care — all without litigation.


Hurricane Sandy Stranded Dialysis Patients. Lessons Learned?

This was an issue in the greater Lansing area after the ice storm.....

http://goo.gl/CN8Yjf

When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in October 2012, millions were affected by blackouts, empty gas stations and damaged homes. And, in addition to those losses, patients who require regular medical maintenance, like those who need frequent dialysis, were left in a bind.

Twenty-six percent of dialysis patients in Manhattan missed at least one dialysis session in the week following the storm, according to a study presented Thursday at a meeting of the American Society of Nephrology. Dialysis machines filter harmful substances from the blood when a patient's kidneys can no longer do so. While it's a lifesaving treatment, dialysis requires electricity, water and trained staff.

Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator: Financial Help for Health Insurance Coverage through Marketp

http://goo.gl/jPQGUG

The Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator provides estimates of health insurance premiums and subsidies for people purchasing insurance on their own in health insurance exchanges (or “Marketplaces”) created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With this calculator, you can enter your income, age, and family size to estimate your eligibility for subsidies and how much you could spend on health insurance. You can also use this tool to estimate your eligibility for Medicaid. As eligibility requirements may vary by state, please contact your state’s Medicaid office or Marketplace with enrollment questions. 


Your Government Health Data

http://goo.gl/hR3n58

The Blue Button lets you go online and download your health records so you can use them to improve your health, have more control over your personal health information and your family’s healthcare.
  • Do you want to feel more in control of your health and your personal health information? Do you have a health issue?
  • Are you caring for an elderly parent?
  • Are you changing doctors?
  • Do you need to find the results of a medical test or a complete and current list of your medications?

Blue Button may be able to help.


Older Adults and People With Disabilities Want Choice and Control

Duh of the week.....

http://goo.gl/zSWS4d

Participant-directed services give consumers greater control

A Medicaid demonstration project known as Cash and Counseling showed that programs can deliver services in a way that enhances individual choice and control. This approach had positive outcomes and led to broader adoption of participant-directed programs.

In these programs, consumers can hire and fire their own workers, schedule their hours and, in some cases, determine their rate of pay. Some programs allow consumers to manage their budgets (as determined by the program’s needs assessment). This budget authority gives much greater flexibility to program participants. For example, using funds to purchase a washer and dryer might allow someone with limited mobility to do their own laundry, if they can’t get to a laundromat.

No Inexpensive Health Care for You!

http://goo.gl/cW314I

Bureaucracies work by writing and enforcing rules and regulations to reduce risk and prevent change. This means that products like 23andMe are seen as dangerous challenges to their regulatory authority.

That’s exactly what happened.

The first sign of trouble came in 2008, when both New York and California attempted to block 23andMe from providing genetic testing without a physician’s approval. In other words, doctors didn't like the idea that patients would have more information than they did.

In time, 23andMe was able to circumvent this attempt at regulatory blockage by securing the licenses required and they continued to improve their offering. Then, in 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration finally intervened to block 23andMe from offering medical information to subscribers. It justified this action by making the bogus claim that the company’s service wasn't actually a service but was really a medical device, which meant they needed FDA approval before they could continue.


Billions in health care savings possible with biosimilar drugs

Biologics are the drugs for RA, psoriasis, IBS, Chrone's, and other autoimmune diseases. Biosimilars are kind of generics.........

http://goo.gl/sgdr38

While biologics have advanced medical treatment for many conditions, they often are expensive and patient copays for some biologics can be several thousand dollars per year. In 2011, eight of the top 20 drugs in the United States in terms of sales were biologics and the annual spending on the drugs has grown three times faster than other prescription medications.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is developing regulations to govern the approval process for highly similar versions of the already-approved complex, protein-based biologics, which includes drugs such as insulin, monoclonal antibodies and a range of medications to treat other serious conditions.

While expected to produce less-dramatic savings than an earlier generation of less-complex generic drugs, the introduction of biosimilars into the U.S. marketplace is expected to increase competition and drive down prices, resulting in savings for patients, health care payers and taxpayers.

Hundreds of US troops exposed to dangerous chemicals in Iraq

http://goo.gl/Ipx2ak

For me, the biggest failure was not the exposure of troops to chemicals in the first instance, because war is inherently dangerous, and all battlefields have hazards,” Carter says. “But DOD had a system to collect data about exposures, and it did nothing with it. It never analyzed the data, it never got back to troops, it never handed it over to the VA so they could do something with it.” 

There was a “whole system” put into place after Agent Orange revelations in Vietnam.

That it was not examined or followed-up on, Carter adds, “is tantamount to military malpractice.”


Shallow breaths leading to more CO2 reduces asthma symptoms

This is interesting to me partly because I saw a mask used with kids with brain damage in the early 70's that was designed to increase CO2 in order to trigger greater lung expansion and opening of blood vessels in the brain.....

http://goo.gl/f8AVaZ

Asthma patients taught to habitually resist the urge to take deep breaths when experiencing symptoms were rewarded with fewer symptoms and healthier lung function, according to a new study from Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

The findings are from a large clinical trial funded with a grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

The results suggest asthma patients using behavioral therapy in conjunction with their daily asthma medicine can improve their lung health over the long-term, said principal investigators Thomas Ritz and Alicia E. Meuret, both SMU clinical psychologists.

Also, sufferers may potentially reduce their dependence on emergency medication, such as rescue inhalers, the researchers said.