-
Robert Klitzman's survey of IRB chairs, members and administrators revealed a number of ideas that can be adopted by other institutions that want to improve relations with their investigators.
-
Despite evidence suggesting that tobacco use can hamper cancer treatments, patients with cancer who enter clinical trials are rarely asked about their use of tobacco, according to a recent study.
-
Research institutions that plan to use the teach-back method as part of their informed consent process should make certain there is adequate training for clinical trial professionals. One research site has found that simulations work best for this purpose.
-
It's important that IRB meetings are run efficiently, keeping discussions brisk and on the important human subjects protection issues. But it's also important that these discussions are well-documented in the IRB meeting minutes.
-
Nearly every baby born in the United States undergoes a simple heel-stick in the first few days of life that has potentially profound health implications for his or her life.
-
It began as an infection control nightmare in New Hampshire, but it didnt stop there. A medical technician who worked in the cardiac catheterization lab in Exeter Hospital in Nashua was charged with diverting drugs and reusing the syringes on patients.
-
As the nation faces the largest outbreak of pertussis in 50 years, the rate of vaccination of health care workers languishes at about 20%.
-
In the age of safer needles, vaccination and prophylaxis, the risk of hepatitis B among health care workers has dropped dramatically, from a high of about 12,000 cases a year in the 1980s to 203 reported acute cases from 2005 to 2010. Routine HBV vaccination of infants, which began in 1991, promises to make transmission from blood and body fluid exposures even rarer.
-
Using a blood test to screen health care workers for tuberculosis can cut your false positives by two-thirds, but it is critical to evaluate the numerical result on the test, according to members of a national TB testing task force.
-
A mid some high-profile outbreaks of hepatitis C, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has put health care facilities on notice that inspectors will zero in on infection control practices and observe the practices of health care workers.1
