WakeMed Cary, Duke University Hospital Score Below Average Injuries, accidents, infections, and hospital errors account for up to 440,000 patient deaths a year. To educate the public—and hold hospitals to the highest standards of care—the nonprofit Leapfrog Group has released its latest safety report on healthcare facilities in the United States. Locally, both WakeMed Cary …
Two Triangle Hospitals Receive C Grades for Safety Read More »
It’s no secret or surprise that mistakes are made in hospitals and doctor’s offices everyday, but one study is showing these errors may be occurring at a rate that is much higher than previously believed. In fact, researchers showed as many as 400,000 hospital errors may occur in the United States each year. The study—which …
Study Finds Number of Hospital Errors Are Increasing Read More »
We trust that when we go to the hospital, we’ll get cured and sent home good as new… or at least not sicker than when we went in. According to a new study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, each year nearly 650,000 hospital patients get a serious infection during their stay …
Since posting the story about how 18 patients at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, were possibly exposed to the rare but deadly Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), we’ve had folks ask for more information. While there has been no additional information provided by the hospital, we’ve put together this list of answers to common questions: I’ve …
Q&A about Possible CJD Exposure at Forsyth Medical Center Read More »
Every year, about 4000 people enter the hospital for surgery and leave with a dangerous souvenir: a surgical instrument or item left behind in the body. Two-thirds of the time, the object is a surgical sponge, but sometimes the items are scissors, scalpels, or other large, metal items. But even a sponge can be serious. …
When patients undergo surgery, they do so with the hope of becoming better, of recovery from some condition that requires physical repair or removal. No one, however, expects to leave the hospital with a little something extra–especially if that something is a sponge, forceps, or other surgical instrument left behind inside the body. This problem …
Making Sure Surgeons Leave Less Behind…Inside Patients Read More »
Recovering from an injury suffered in an accident can be a long process. Take, for instance, the story of a truck driver from Goldsboro, North Carolina, that was recently highlighted by WRAL News. The truck driver was involved in an accident on October 29, 2009, along I-95 near Godwin in Cumberland County.
A Fayetteville, North Carolina, hospital is at risk of losing it’s funding from Medicaid and Medicare tonight in response to the death of a mentally ill patient.
A recent study concluded that the cause of the surge in fatal overdoses could be linked to the increased use of drugs that have potential for abuse.
Medical stories are some of the most heartbreaking: You trust your health to a doctor or hospital, and something goes wrong. Maybe you end up sicker than you were before. Sometimes, the error may result in death. Here is a round-up of the most important medical and drug stories of the year. (To read any …