Hospitals
VA executives received $100M in bonuses as problems mounted
Executives and employees of the troubled Veterans Affairs health system enjoyed over $100 million in bonuses, according to the Asbury Park Press. The federal government warned the VA in the past about the growing issue of excessive patient wait times and its detrimental effect on the health care system. Still, VA executives and employees received…
Read MoreThe cost of not caring: Inside a mental health system drowning from neglect
States have been reducing hospital beds for decades, because of insurance pressures as well as a desire to provide more care outside institutions, USA TODAY reports. Tight budgets during the recession forced some of the most devastating cuts in recent memory, says Robert Glover, executive director of the National Association of State Mental Health Program…
Read MoreObscure law is freeing county mental patients
A Seattle Times investigation has found that people like Gregory Benson are now released on technicalities from King County hospitals — without treatment or monitoring — on average every other day. During a recent 10-week period, at least 35 people deemed by the county to be imminent threats to themselves or others were released after…
Read MoreInside the private umbilical cord blood banking business
The question of whether to pay for storage of a baby’s cord blood is now routinely asked of expectant parents in obstetrician offices and hospital delivery rooms. Many states have passed laws requiring that doctors tell expectant parents their options for cord blood: discard it; bank it privately; or donate it to a public bank,…
Read MoreIn New York, a Heart Surgery Factory With ‘Obscene Levels’ of Pay
Reports of scheduled ER visits raised a concern internally that some cardiologists might be using the emergency department to get the costs of uninsured patients’ procedures covered, according to hospital correspondence. In some cases, the government’s Medicaid program and private insurers will pay for procedures done via an emergency-room visit that wouldn’t be covered otherwise,…
Read MoreSouth Carolina among worst in nation on newborn tests
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, South Carolina “ranks among the worst in the nation as to how quickly hospitals send babies’ blood samples to state labs for testing of rare but deadly genetic disorders.” “Federally backed guidelines recommend blood samples take no more than three days to arrive at labs for testing, as children…
Read MoreAustralian hospitals’ waiting list deaths
More than 840 people – 16 a week – died waiting for surgery in Victoria in the past year. The revelation comes as the length of time patients spend on elective surgery waiting lists continues to grow
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Secret settlements, data breaches and university lobbyists
Mizzou did not pursue alleged assault | ESPNThe University of Missouri did not investigate or tell law enforcement officials about an alleged rape, possibly by one or more members of its football team, despite administrators finding out about the alleged 2010 incident more than a year ago, an “Outside the Lines” investigation has found. The…
Read MoreMRSA infections worse than stats suggest
“A USA TODAY examination finds that MRSA infections, particularly outside of health care facilities, are much more common than government statistics suggest. They sicken hundreds of thousands of Americans each year in various ways, from minor skin boils to deadly pneumonia, claiming upward of 20,000 lives. The inability to detect or track cases is confounding…
Read MoreHow a recalled medical device killed a vet
“Despite the “urgent medical correction letter” posted at FDA.gov a trainer for B. Braun, the German manufacturer that produced the recalled morphine drip machine, came to the Seattle VA to teach nurses how to use the machine. According to the nurses, the trainer told them that a correction was coming soon for the device’s breakable…
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