Letter to the Editor: Did the FDA Say Duodenoscopes Were Safe? Part 2
A post on February 24, 2016 by PSQH was headlined “FDA: Duodenoscopes from three major companies now safe to use with updated instructions.” The article went on to say that “The announcement means that scopes from the three major manufactures…are now safe to use with their updated instructions.” However a proper reading of the FDA … Continued
Bribery on Two Continents: Olympus Corp. to Pay $646 million settlement
On March 1, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Olympus Corp. with paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to hospitals and doctors to buy its products. The company, which owns 85% of the U.S. endoscope market, has agreed to pay $646 million to resolve the criminal charges and civil charges brought against it. The sum … Continued
Study: Poor Communication Leads to Malpractice, Death
Poor communication in healthcare has tangible, measurable effects. A new study released by CRICO Strategies found that communications failures were a factor in 30% of malpractice cases between 2009 to 2013, including 1,744 deaths. The reports estimate that both the deaths and $1.7 billion in malpractice costs could have been avoided with better communication between patients and physicians.
FDA validates revised reprocessing instructions for Model ED-530XT duodenoscopes
FUJIFILM Medical Systems issued revised reprocessing instructions late last month for Model ED-530XT duodenoscopes, according to a safety communication issued by the FDA. The instructions require exacting pre-cleaning, manual cleaning, and high-level disinfection procedures. While these revised reprocessing instructions are for Model ED-530XT duodenoscopes, the FDA is encouraging healthcare facilities that use Fuji’s 250 and … Continued
Study: Discharge notes are often written grades above patient reading levels
A study published in The American Journal of Surgery found that low literacy rates can drive up the number of hospital readmissions. Of the 497 patients studied, researchers found that only 24% had the reading skills necessary to understand their discharge instructions, with 65% reading a lower grade level than what their notes were written … Continued
Overcoming Barriers on the Way to Evidence-Based Practice
Although nurses and physicians support evidence-based care in principle, barriers to adoption include resistance from colleagues, nurse leaders, and physicians and more than one-half of physicians do not use available guidelines
Integrating Quality Into Medical School Curriculum: One Student’s Perspective
By Anne Press
The traditional medical school curriculum has a heavy scientific focus, especially in the first two years. In an already jam-packed curriculum, it can be difficult to replace any of the materials with improvement science. To combat this, Hofstra-North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine launched—with the school’s inaugural class in 2011—a four-year curriculum in patient safety, quality, and effectiveness. The following is an example of the impact this curriculum had on me, a student in that first class.
As I sat through a lecture on biochemical pathways and the pathology that can cause diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF), I was enthralled by the mechanisms of the human body. However, the human element of the disease was missing from the lecture. I was unable to take what I was learning and apply it to actual patients, in real-life settings, and understand how it affected their care.
The Emory Experience: Quality Improvement Skills Labs in Interdisciplinary Education
By Ariadne K. DeSimone In spring 2014, one day after taking my Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), I finally had time to turn my attention to thoughts about my future and to the email messages that had accumulated over the past month. One announcement stood out: The Emory … Continued
The Emory Experience: Quality Improvement Skills Labs in Interdisciplinary Education
By Ariadne K. DeSimone In spring 2014, one day after taking my Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), I finally had time to turn my attention to thoughts about my future and to the email messages that had accumulated over the past month. One announcement stood out: The Emory … Continued
The Emory Experience: Quality Improvement Skills Labs in Interdisciplinary Education
By Ariadne K. DeSimone In spring 2014, one day after taking my Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), I finally had time to turn my attention to thoughts about my future and to the email messages that had accumulated over the past month. One announcement stood out: The … Continued