Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them: Health care screwups are one of the leading causes of death in America, killing as many as 750,000 people annually. That’s more than heart attacks or cancer. And yet most people don’t know this, including most physicians. From diagnostic disasters to deadly drug interactions, the bestselling authors of The People’s Pharmacy expose the alarming epidemic of medical mistakes in America—and offer a lifesaving prescription to make the healthcare system safe again. Only $26.00 +s/h
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Q. I'm a critical care nurse with a daughter who's a transplant recipient. I know that hospital housekeeping departments do the best they can. Often, though, the cleaning staff don't think to sanitize every surface patients and staff touch. This should definitely happen after one patient is discharged and another is admitted, but it doesn't always.
When I'm at work, before any admission I am careful to thoroughly clean things like call lights, phones and monitor wires. I clean my shoes and stethoscope at the end of my shift and I don't re-use my white jackets without laundering.
Of course, whenever my daughter is hospitalized, I am careful to clean her room too. We have had very good results over the years with this approach.
A. As you know, the immune systems of transplant recipients are suppressed to prevent rejection of the organ. As a result, they can't fight off infections like healthy people do.
We appreciate your attention to potential contamination of hospital rooms. We spoke with Robert Muder, MD, about his successful infection control program at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He found that recruiting housekeeping staff to the team and reframing their job as preventing infections rather than just cleaning rooms really helped.
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With 100,000 a year dying of hospital acquired infections it's
clear housekeeping and others are not doing their job well.
Like reframing and retraining all employees in hospitals on infection
control. A simple change in name can promote health in our
soundbite age.
As a 78-yr.-old glaucoma patient (diagnosed in 2008), I was glad to hear specific info about this frightening condition from these two experts. I have been taking Xalatan and also (in my right eye only) Alphagan, because that eye has a condition called pseudo-exfoliation.
Until my recent regular checkup, the IOP had been controlled at under 18 in both eyes. Suddenly it shot up to21 in the left, and 29 in the right. I had changed to the generic drops, and thought that might be the problem; but these optometrists did not seem to think so. I hope I am doing the right things. The rest of the info about detached retinas, etc. was also very enlightening. Thanks!