Hospital cited $290 billion in waste. Both
also looked at productivity losses. Kelly
Kennedy, USA Today, June 1, 2011.
physicians who participated in the study
One in three surrogates carries a lasting
emotional burden related to decisions they
make on behalf of loved ones at the end of
percent said fear of litigation drives many
published March 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Guilt and lingering
"Medical liability reform is essential to
doubts about whether they made the right
choices can lead to anxiety, depression and
"Without it, healthcare costs will continue
to rise. Estimates on the costs of defensive
medicine range from $60-$150 billion per
rather than on the patient as a person,"
Chicago's MacClean Center for Clinical
surrogate's distress can be ameliorated not
only by focusing on the patient's expressed
preferences, but also by discussing his or
medications because the missed doses lead
her best interests in the current clinical
to emergency room visits, doctor's visits
and in-patient hospitalizations, according
prescription-filling firm. A second study
Copyright 2011 CHA. Permission granted to CHA-member organizations and Saint Louis University to copy and distribute for educational purposes.
medical conditions. Since this information
would be available early in the pregnancy,
"The ultimate question for society is,
American Journal of Bioethics that it is
valuable?" Such testing also poses concerns
"justifiable in some circumstances for
parents and doctors to decide to al ow an
ability to sort through and understand a
infant's life would be worth living." Dr.
appropriate decisions. Associated Press,
care. "Even when burdens do seem to be
disability, this is not a sufficient reason to
withhold life-Saving treatments. After all,
a disabled baby has a full right to life too,"
medical practice are less about service than
"What can one doctor or practice do?"
Much could be accomplished if physicians
angels", according to Joel Levine, MD,
Scanning fetal DNA from a blood test will
advance that promises to greatly improve
current prenatal care," says Jamie King,
associate professor at the University of
Research. Physicians could say it isn't
California Hastings College of Law in San
"Bringing it into practice, however, "raises
significant practical, legal, ethical and
prevention integral to patient care even if
social chal enges," she says. The tests
few insurers as willing to pay for it. This
could reveal a range of medical conditions
would build trust between physicians and
patients, pitting both against diseases and
less against each other. Joel Levine, MD
Alzheimer's disease and a range of other
Copyright 2011 CHA. Permission granted to CHA-member organizations and Saint Louis University to copy and distribute for educational purposes.
Studies at Saint Louis University School
Maryland is also in the front of the pack
of Law contributed the following items to
of health care reform pioneers. The state
director, Center for Health Law Studies,
supervised the contributions of health law
experts, a legal aid official and former
business lobbyist have been appointed to
state health care initiatives. (Md. Health
'Fast and Furious' Opportunity - The
impetus behind one of the first state-run
exchange with a single-payer health care
operational in 2014, but funding for the
(IOM) reveals that 40 percent of hospitals
Himmelstein, professor at City University
are receiving exceptions to their Medicare
of New York's public health program, is
legislation "an announcement of intention
rather than an accomplishment". The plan
has not addressed soaring health care costs
hospitals and doctors based on geographic
successful system. However, if the plan is
successful, it may provide a template for
enough and results in wasteful spending.
other states to follow as they attempt to
spending and were one focus of the study.
McDonald, May 26, 2011) Copyright 2011 CHA. Permission granted to CHA-member organizations and Saint Louis University to copy and distribute for educational purposes.
funds to a private entity under the Bayh-
cost of living and doing business in each
participate in the state health exchanges,
In a June ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court
(Stanford University v Roche). The patent
is for technology featured in a kit that
identifies the level of HIV in patients'
blood. Stanford argued that it should be
the sole owner of the technology because
the inventor worked there at the time of
Services in order for the co-ops to apply
Doyle Act, a university is allowed to retain
rights to research funded by federal grants.
loans consist of two types: "start- up"
loans and "solvency" loans. The former
would be used to begin the co-op and the
latter is meant to help co-ops conform to
would be held by Roche. The U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
required to pay off start-up loans in five
and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in a
7-2 decision. Justices Breyer and Ginsburg
dissented. In his dissent, Justice Breyer did
may get $3.8B in loans, Indianapolis
not believe that an individual could assign
BusinessJournal, Bloomberg News, July
Copyright 2011 CHA. Permission granted to CHA-member organizations and Saint Louis University to copy and distribute for educational purposes.
came after the publication of a clinical
trial called the Study of the Effectiveness
positive patients could plan to live has
Reinberg, U.S.News, June 8, 2011.
the average life expectancy is 55 years.
The latest Kaiser tracking poll shows that
Medicine said, "We knew it was good. It
because they received benefits directly or
until their immune systems are devastated,
received benefits. Eighty-six percent of
participants reported an overall positive
Unfortunately, not all groups access drugs
at an early stage. Men wait longer to get
previous reports from Kaiser, 70 percent
coverage, 60 percent of low income kids,
percent of pregnant women, 20 percent of
persons with severe disabilities, and 21
HIV at birth usually spend more of their
Katherine Hobson, Wall Street Journal,
After concerns of an increased chance of
usually within their first year of taking the
debated whether to test patients for early
Copyright 2011 CHA. Permission granted to CHA-member organizations and Saint Louis University to copy and distribute for educational purposes.
signs of Alzheimer's and then tell them the
results, even though no cure exists. The
plaques that show individuals they might
absence of symptoms. Although the brain plaques suggest a patient might be
developing Alzheimer's, they may not get
Scotia says that there is no data "to show
outcomes." This leaves the question of why testing is necessary at all. Another
"camp" of medical experts encourages
continue searching for the explanation for
the patient's symptoms. There is also an
their financial and legal matters in order
and possibly start a medication regimen to
Copyright 2011 CHA. Permission granted to CHA-member organizations and Saint Louis University to copy and distribute for educational purposes.
Community Mental Health for Central Michigan PROTOCOL FOR LOOK-ALIKE AND SOUND-ALIKE DRUGS This protocol should be posted in all licensed residential group homes who contract with Community Mental Health for Central Michigan ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINE In an effort to improve medication safety and to meet The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal Number 3, Community