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The recent settlement by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in Newark has some legal experts concluding that the hospital ended up with a relatively light punishment considering the extent of the alleged billing fraud and the long, contentious litigation that was prompted by a whistle-blower lawsuit.
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A pregnant woman contacted her doctor with complaints of decreased fetal movement. He advised her to go to the triage outpatient obstetrical department, where she was placed on a fetal heart monitor and underwent a biophysical profile. The monitor showed a nonreactive fetal heart rate pattern, and the profile confirmed that the fetus was in distress.
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As U.S. deaths from the H1N1 virus have mounted in recent months, media reports began to include the inevitable comments from hospital spokespeople that the patients who died had "pre-existing conditions," with no specifics given.
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Health care workers contracted the novel H1N1 influenza A pandemic virus from undiagnosed patients with respiratory symptoms and from fellow employees who came to work sick. But even when they knew they were caring for patients with novel H1N1, many health care workers did not use all of the personal protective equipment [PPE] that is recommended.
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Amid the backdrop of a worldwide influenza pandemic, hospitals received a new model for protecting health care workers from airborne diseases: Landmark regulation from California that provides a comprehensive approach to the hazards of airborne infectious diseases.
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Should health care workers wear respirators when caring for patients with novel H1N1? In mid-June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was considering a shift from airborne precautions to droplet precautions, which would mean that health care workers would wear surgical masks when caring for patients. Respirators would still be recommended for aerosol-generating procedures.
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The rural Iowa community of Marshalltown may seem an unlikely place to be an epicenter of a new pandemic. But this spring, the town of about 26,000 coped with a sudden outbreak of novel H1N1, demonstrating why pandemic preparedness is so important for every hospital.
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Some hospitals have virtually eliminated annual fit-testing by relying on powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). But the advent of novel H1N1 brings into focus a reality of pandemic preparedness: You're going to need to conduct just-in-time fit-testing despite the PAPR use.
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There's more to needle safety than a safety device. That conclusion, simple as it may sound, led BJC Healthcare in St. Louis to analyze the environment of care and clinical technique as it seeks to reduce injuries from subcutaneous injections.
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Reducing bloodborne pathogen exposures remains a primary concern for employee health nurses, according to a survey of members by the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP).
