abstract: Does public disclosure of quality indicators influence hospitals' inclination to enhance results? (using Oesophageal resection as the example)

CONCLUSION:

Our results support the assumption that low-volume hospitals are inclined to adjust their numbers when, because outcomes are public, pressure to report a sufficient number is high. So, external verification of data is essential when this 'need to score' is high.

abstract: Predictive Value of Symptoms for Ovarian Cancer: Comparison of Symptoms Reported by Questionnaire, Interview, and General Practitioner Notes

Background:Because of the poor survival outcomes associated with advanced ovarian cancer, early detection strategies are needed. Although several symptom indices have been described, their relationship with the potential lead time has been poorly documented.

Methods
Women aged 50–79 years who had newly diagnosed ovarian cancer (n = 194) and control subjects (n = 268) who attended ovarian cancer screening clinics were included in the analysis.

Conclusions
Previous estimates of index performance have been overly optimistic because they did not take into account the time required to make a diagnosis on the basis of testing in response to symptoms. In addition, the specificity of a symptom index is lower when based on a telephone interview vs questionnaire or GP notes. Thus, the clinical utility of a symptom index depends on precisely how it is used and how index-positive women are managed.

DOTmed.com - Most patient harm events slip through hospital reporting systems (patient safety)

Study of Medicare Patients Finds Most Hospital Errors Unreported - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — Hospital employees recognize and report only one out of seven errors, accidents and other events that harm Medicare patients while they are hospitalized, federal investigators say in a new report.

Yet even after hospitals investigate preventable injuries and infections that have been reported, they rarely change their practices to prevent repetition of the “adverse events,” according to the study, from Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.......

Surgeons' and residents' double-gloving practices at 2 teaching hospitals in Ontario (patient safety/injury)

".......Of the 77% who reported at least 1 injury/year, 67% stated that they had not reported it to an employee health service. 

Background: Surgeons and residents are at increased risk of exposure to blood-borne pathogens owing to percutaneous injury (PI) and contamination. One method known to reduce risk is double-gloving (DG) during surgery.
Conclusion: Percutaneous injuries occur frequently during surgery, yet routine DG (double gloved), an effective means of reducing risk, was carried out by less than half of the surgeons and residents participating in this study. This highlights the need for a more concerted and broad-based approach to increase the use of a measure that is effective, inexpensive and easily carried out."

pilot program - Drug mishap reporting system created for consumers - Canadian Medical Association Journal

Note: the article does not mention until the final statements that this is a pilot project NOR does the website



The new national medication incident reporting system is the first of its kind to directly engage Canadian consumers

http://safemedicationuse.ca/report/index.html

"Health care practitioners and hospitals have been reporting medication incidents using similar tools for years, but there’s never been a formal mechanism to collect incident reports from consumers," says Bonnie Salsman, project lead for the website, which was developed with support from Health Canada.


In the past, if a consumer wanted to report a medication mistake, they had to use a tool designed for health care workers, or else ask a medical practitioner to report the incident on their behalf.


"It wasn’t a consumer-friendly process. It was really difficult for people to get their concerns heard without doing a considerable amount of footwork first," says Salsman. "That there were still patients who took the initiative to report incidents using the practitioner reporting system showed us how helpful a consumer tool would be."


The website offers Canadians a simplified form to report any medication incident involving the use of prescription and nonprescription drugs, natural health products, imported products, or devices used to administer medicine. Consumers can report incidents that occur at any stage in the prescribing, dispensing, administration, or monitoring of a medication. They can also offer their own suggestions on how to avoid similar mishaps in future....cont'd

According to the 2008 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Sicker Adults, 1 in 10 Canadians with health problems have reported receiving the wrong medication or doses when filling a prescription or when hospitalized in the last two years, while nearly 1 in 7 said they had experienced a medication error in the past two years.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada will continue to monitor the success of the website’s pilot phase in the coming months, and expects to report preliminary results to Health Canada this fall.

ISMP Canada will:

• review your report
• look for system problems that could cause errors to happen
• prepare recommendations that are designed to prevent mistakes with medication
• send recommendations about medication safety to health professionals and consumers
• provide consumer-focused information and tips about medication safety on the SafeMedicationUse.ca website

ISMP Canada will not:

• investigate a complaint on your behalf with an organization or health professional that is responsible for an error in care
• investigate the actions of individual practitioners
• report (for disciplinary purposes) the incident to professional authorities responsible for regulating the practice of health professionals
• release or publish any information that could identify the reporter of an incident, a patient, a health professional or an organization involved in an incident

Fox News posts story making preposterous claim about breast cancer - Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog

Note: dissecting media reports

ORC Oncology report - fill out form to receive copy of the report

Note: once the form is filled out the paper uploads a pdf file of the report automatically

ORC’s Oncology Report examines three important Oncology issues: Assessing the Impact of Revised NSCLC Staging, Genetically Linked Breast Cancer and PARP-1 Inhibitors and Reactions to New Mammogram Recommendations. Submit the information below and download the full report.

The Empowered Patient: Report An Adverse Event/survey and website information

The Empowered Patient Coalition

Patient reporting site for medical errors is nowonline!

Dear Friends,

The Empowered Patient Coalition is pleased to announce that a new survey for reporting adverse medical events is now permanently online at http://www. empoweredpatientcoalition.org/ report-a-medical-event.  This survey is designed by patients, for patients, in order to give people who have experienced adverse medical events a place where their reports can be counted.  

Created in collaboration with Consumers Union Safe Patient Project, the survey aims to provide a snapshot of medical harm as it is lived by those who undergo it, beginning with the patient's initial procedure or treatment and continuing all the way through the patient and family experience of the legal system.  Responses will be presented in de-identified, aggregated form at www.empoweredpatientcoalition.org.   

This is an international survey.  Reports will be displayed by country, and reports from the US and Canada will also be tallied by state or province whenever the respondent provides such information....cont'd