"Health & Medical News"

Louisiana physicians who were getting roped into the state’s lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company won a recent victory in their effort to defend their patients’ privacy. But doctors’ involvement in the case may not be over just yet.

The Louisiana attorney general is suing Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc., owned by Johnson & Johnson, for alleged illegal off-label promotion of Risperdal (risperidone). The state also claims the drug manufacturer defrauded Louisiana’s Medicaid program, which reimbursed for the drug.

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Three in five inpatients are extremely satisfied with their hospital care. And two of three patients would definitely recommend their hospital to friends and family, according to new survey data released last month by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

The patient satisfaction data also show that eight in 10 patients said their physicians always explained things clearly, listened carefully and treated them with courtesy and respect.

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One physician’s faxed order to discontinue hydrocodone, marketed as Anexsia, was misread by the pharmacist as an order to discontinue Arixtra, an anticoagulant. Another doctor intended to electronically order clonidine, an antihypertensive, but accidentally ordered the sedative clonazepam because both appeared as “CLON” on the computer screen.

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It only takes a year to start draining empathy from future physicians, according to a study of medical students in the March issue of Academic Medicine. But empathy is a key quality medical schools should promote, experts said, because it makes for better physicians.

“We know as a medical community that really good communication skills with patients help the patients to comply with the instructions of the physician,” said lead study author Bruce W. Newton, PhD. “It puts them more at ease with the physician, a bond of trust is established, and if something unfortunately goes wrong, if you have this bond and communications skills, you are much less likely to be sued.”

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From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

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From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Washington — Federal regulators have proposed sweeping patient safety rules to give physicians and others a confidential, voluntary way to report medical errors and near mistakes. Several health care organizations applauded the release of the long-awaited regulations but want a closer look before making a final judgment.

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Some California physicians say a recent settlement between a Ventura hospital and the Dept. of Justice underscores the importance of a self-governing medical staff.

Community Memorial Hospital in December 2007 agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle allegations that the facility gave improper gifts, loans and payments to some doctors in exchange for Medicare patient referrals. No doctors were named in the agreement, and the hospital did not admit any wrongdoing. Community Memorial administrators voluntarily disclosed the financial relationships, which took place under the hospital’s former leadership.

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Washington — A new Medicare coverage policy on drug treatment for anemic cancer patients is hurting care, according to a survey of doctors released last month.

Ninety-one percent of oncologists and hematologists reported adverse patient events in the 12 weeks after the July 30 implementation of the national coverage determination on erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. The poll was sponsored by U.S. Oncology, which funds, develops, and helps manage 443 cancer centers in 39 states. It surveyed 307 physicians from Nov. 26, 2007, to Dec. 11, 2007. The organization limited the number of affiliated physicians involved in the poll to 20% of all respondents.

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