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Vaginal mesh scandal: no action from ministers

A year on from the vaginal mesh scandal and ministers have failed to take action. The new health secretary Sajid Javid has been called on to intervene by families, lawyers and campaigners and has been asked to implement recommendations made by the Cumberlege Inquiry. 

Emma Hardy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Surgical Mesh Implants has said “Women deserve better than the government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, but they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.”

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Source: The Independent, 08 July 2021

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Vaginal mesh has caused health problems in many women, even as some surgeons vouch for its safety and efficacy

Regina Stepherson needed surgery for rectocele, a prolapse of the wall between the rectum and the vagina. Her surgeons said that her bladder also needed to be lifted and did so with vaginal mesh, a surgical mesh used to reinforce the bladder.

Following the surgery in 2010, Stepherson, then 48. said she suffered debilitating symptoms for two years. An active woman who rode horses, Stepherson said she had constant pain, trouble walking, fevers off and on, weight loss, nausea and lethargy after the surgery. She spent days sitting on the couch, she said.

In August 2012, Stepherson and her daughter saw an ad relating to vaginal mesh that mentioned 10 symptoms and said that if you had them, to call a lawyer.

Vaginal mesh, used to repair and improve weakened pelvic tissues, is implanted in the vaginal wall. It was initially — in 1998 — thought to be a safe and easy solution for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence.

But over time, complications were reported, including chronic inflammation, and mesh that shrinks and becomes encased in scar tissue causing pain, infection and protrusion through the vaginal wall.

More than 100,000 lawsuits have been filed against makers of mesh, according to ConsumerSafety.org, making it “one of the largest mass torts in history.”

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Source: Washington Post, 20 January 2019

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Vaginal mesh and Gardasil: Approval for general indemnity cover and product liability cover

The Irish Cabinet has approved general indemnity cover and product liability cover for claims to two public sector bodies relating to transvaginal mesh products and the Gardasil HPV vaccine. 

The Health Minister Stephen Donnelly brought forward a proposal to Cabinet Wednesday for the provision of this cover to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) and the Mental Health Commission (MHC) for claims relating to the mesh products or Gardasil. 

Gardasil is a type of vaccine used to protect against HPV. Vaginal mesh devices have been used in operations to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse; two conditions that can impact women after natural childbirth or in their later years.

Including the bodies in the State’s general indemnity scheme for these claims will eliminate the requirement for them to carry private insurance.

The State Claims Agency was consulted and indicated that it supports the inclusion of both bodies under the scheme.  

The clinical indemnity scheme indemnifies hospitals but is confined to clinical acts and/or omissions and doesn’t cover product liability matters.

Current legal cases around transvaginal mesh products involve allegations in relation to the product itself and allegations of clinical negligence. It has now been proposed to delegate the product liability claims for mesh products to the State Claims Agency to ensure hospitals aren’t exposed to uninsured liability. 

Thousands of women across the world have suffered complications after having a vaginal mesh device implanted. These complications include chronic pain and recurrent urinary tract infections and have been life-changing in many cases.

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Source: thejournal.ie, 19 January 2022

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Vaccines could mean only one smear test a lifetime

Women who have the HPV vaccine may need only one smear test to prevent cervical cancer in their lifetime, according to a leading scientist.

Women are currently invited for screening every three to five years in the UK. But Prof Peter Sasieni said the vaccine was leading to such dramatic reductions in cancer that the screening programme would need to change soon.

The NHS invites women, and people with a cervix, for regular screening. Swabs of the cervix are used to check for signs of abnormalities using a microscope (the traditional smear test) or more recently to test for the virus itself.

 However, a seismic shift in preventing cervical cancer started in the UK in 2008 with the introduction of the HPV vaccine. It is offered to girls (and boys since 2019) aged between 11 and 13.

Research published in December shows the vaccine is cutting cervical cancer by nearly 90% in those who choose to have the jab.

"This is really exciting," Prof Sasieni, the director of the clinical trials unit at King's College London, told Inside Health on BBC Radio 4.

His modelling suggests between one and three checks a lifetime would be appropriate for people who have been immunised.

"There's a new vaccine which will be used in the UK from the next school year, which protects against even more types of the virus, and I think with that probably one screen would be enough, maybe two, over a lifetime."

However, the Department of Health and Social Care said one in three people do not come for screening when invited, and a spokesperson added: "The NHS Cervical Screening programme remains an important way of protecting the population - including those who have not been vaccinated - from developing cervical cancer."

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Source: BBC News, 2 March 2022

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Vaccine used to free a man who was trapped at home with Covid

A vaccine has been used to free a man who was trapped at home by a Covid infection that lasted for more than seven months.

It is the first time that a vaccine has been used to "treat" Covid rather than "prevent" it.

Ian Lester, 37, has a weakened immune system due to Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, and was unable to defeat the virus on its own.

He says he became a prisoner in his home in Caerphilly, Wales, as he isolated for months on end.

He shielded during the first wave of Covid, but coronavirus eventually found him in December 2020. He had one of the classic symptoms - a slight loss of sense of taste and smell - which cleared up within a month.

For most of us that would be the end of it, but Ian's Covid journey was only just beginning. His doctors wanted him to keep on testing because his weakened immune system meant there was a risk he could be contagious for longer than normal.

But month after month, test after test came back positive. Ian had to give up work.

Scientists and doctors were monitoring the battle between the virus and Ian's immune system at Cardiff University and at the Immunodeficiency Centre for Wales in the University Hospital of Wales.

The analysis showed Ian had a long-term infection, it was not just "dead virus" being detected, and his symptoms were not long-Covid.

Prof Stephen Jolles, clinical lead at the Immunodeficiency Centre, said: "This infection was burbling along, but with his [weakened] immune system it was just not enough to kick off a response sufficient to clear it.

"So the vaccine really made a huge difference, in antibodies and T-cells, and utilised and squeezed every last drop out of what his immune system could do."

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Source: BBC News, 21 March 2022

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Vaccine for pneumonia infection could ease strain on NHS

A vaccine that promises to protect infants and the over-75s from a lung infection which adds to pressure on the NHS each winter has been backed by government advisers.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of pneumonia in the very young and elderly. It typically causes between 22,000 and 30,000 hospital admissions of small children a year.

RSV’s impact on the elderly is less well understood but important, and experts believe that an effective vaccine could significantly lessen winter pressures on the health service.

After 60 years of research, vaccines for older adults from Britain’s GSK and its US rivals Pfizer and Moderna are in the final stages of development.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) believes that they could be licensed this year or early next year and trial data suggest that they work well.

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Source: The Times, 23 June 2023

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Vaccinated nurses will now be ‘expected to return to work’ instead of isolating

Vaccinated nurses will now be expected to return to work instead of isolating as new rules are set to relax.

In a letter on the latest rule change from NHS England chief nursing officer Ruth May, chief people officer Prerana Issar, and medical director for primary care Dr Nikita Kanani said “Fully vaccinated staff and students who are identified as a contact of a positive Covid-19 case will no longer be expected to isolate and will be expected to return to work.”

Staff returning to work are required to have been double jabbed, have no Covid-19 symptoms and receive a negative PCR test. This latest change in rules go in line with changes for the wider population. 

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Source: Nursing Times, 16 August 2021

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Vaccinated less likely to develop Long Covid

People who are vaccinated are less likely to develop Long Covid even if they catch the virus, a rapid review by the UK Health Security Agency reveals.

It looked at the available evidence to date from 15 studies around the world.

The findings suggest that while some who are jabbed catch Covid, vaccines reduce infection risk and illness, including symptoms like fatigue.

And unvaccinated people who catch Covid and get symptoms of Long Covid, do better if they then get vaccinated.

Vaccine effectiveness against most Long-Covid symptoms was highest in people aged 60 years and over

In people who already had Long Covid symptoms, it found that vaccines may improve rather than worsen Covid symptoms, either immediately or over several weeks

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), around 2% of the UK population have reported symptoms of Long Covid, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and muscle or joint pain.

Symptoms like these can last for more than four weeks after the infection.

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Source: 15 February 2022

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VA now 'reimagining' approach to Cerner EHR modernization

Multiple issues have been found after a review into Veteran Affairs (VA) electronic system revealed outstanding issues. 

VA Secretary Denis McDonough has said "The mission of EHRM has always been to create a platform that seamlessly delivers the best access and outcomes for our vets and the best experience for our providers". 

The review found problems in several areas including: patient safety, productivity, governance and management, cost and schedule performance, patient portal experience, testing, data and change management and training. 

McDonough has said steps are being taken to address each of these issues and that VA is "reimagining our approach to Electronic Health Record Modernization."

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Source: Healthcare IT News, 19 July 2021

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UTI testing '50 years out of date'

A painful infection that mainly affects women is too often dismissed as "women's problems".

One in every two women suffer a urinary tract infection (UTI) and they are the second most common infection globally.

Among those affected is Hannah Hanratty, 36, who suffered months of agony despite multiple negative tests. During her pregnancy, Mrs Hanratty felt the "razor-blade burning pain" when passing urine. It soon developed into a constant pain. Two weeks after giving birth she needed antibiotics following a routine procedure and said the pain immediately went. "It was a UTI all along that just hadn't been picked up by the tests," she said.

Now Dr Emma Hayhurst, a senior lecturer in Molecular Biology at the University of South Wales, has developed a device to improve testing and said the current system is "50 years out of date".

At the moment a UTI patient may be asked to provide a urine sample which is sent for analysis, with tests back in two to three days.

"That's not good enough, we need to make it quicker," said Dr Hayhurst, explaining that the device she's working on would reduce that.

"Within 30 minutes the clinician will be able to say what bacteria is causing the UTI and indeed whether there is a UTI in the first place."

Dr Hayhurst has received a £50,000 Women in Innovation Award to further her work, but also in recognition of her position as a female role model in the field of science, technology, engineering and medicine - or STEM subjects, as they're also known.

"We should be listening to the women who are telling us this is a problem in their lives, but we know many feel like they are being dismissed," she said.

Wales' Health Minister Eluned Morgan is due to publish a quality statement on women's health in the summer, and has announced funding for each health board to have a specialist endometriosis nurse.

"I feel I have particular responsibility, as the first woman health minister in a long time, to make sure we look at the issue of women's health in a lot more detail," she said.

"There are clearly some gaps, certainly when it comes to research, but also in terms of where people are concentrating their efforts and investment.

"Quite often, women are not heard in the same way as men are heard and we've really got to make sure we are rebalancing that unconscious bias."

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Source: 7 March 2022

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Using Twitter to assess patient takes on patient experience

A qualitative study of Twitter hashtags revealed power hierarchies can damage the patient experience and clinician relationship.

In an analysis of a popular Twitter hashtag, researchers found that patients largely take umbrage when they feel their doctor does not believe their ailment or knowledge about their healthcare, and when they perceive a power hierarchy between themselves and their clinician.

Although not as many patients are using Twitter to get peer feedback on certain providers (the Binary Fountain poll showed only 21% of patients do this), the social media website still holds a lot of power, researchers from the University of California system explained. Twitter is a large platform that hosts social discourse. Healthcare professionals use Twitter to disseminate public health and patient education messages and to network, while 61% of patients use Twitter to learn more about their health, as well.

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Source: Patient Engagement HIT, 29 October 2020

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Using temporary nurses can increase risk of patients dying, warns new study

Patients are more likely to die on wards staffed by a high number of temporary nurses, a study has found.

Researchers say the findings, published in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, are a warning sign that the common practice by many hospitals of relying on agency nurses is not a risk-free option for patients.

The University of Southampton study found that risk of death increased by 12 per cent for every day a patient experienced a high level of temporary staffing – defined as 1.5 hours of agency nursing a day per patient. For an average ward, this increased risk could apply when between a third and a half of the staff on each shift are temporary staff, according to Professor Peter Griffiths, one of the study’s authors.

He told The Independent: “We know that patients are put at risk of harm when nurse staffing is lower than it should be.

“One of the responses to that is to fill the gaps with temporary nursing staff, and that is an absolutely understandable thing to do, but when using a higher number of temporary staff there is an increased risk of harm.

“It is not a solution to the problem.”

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Source: The Independent, 10 December 2019

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Use private sector more for NHS patients, says Labour

The government in England should increase its use of the private sector to tackle the NHS backlog, Labour says.

It said as many as 300,000 patients have missed out on treatment since it called for greater use of private clinics in January 2022.

And the party said it was unjust that the lack of action meant only those who could afford to pay for treatment themselves were being seen on time.

The government said it was delivering by cutting long waits. However, data published by NHS England last week showed key targets to tackle the backlogs in cancer care and routine treatment had been missed.

Overall, there are now a record 7.3 million people on a hospital waiting list, which is nearly three million higher than it was before the pandemic started.

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Source: BBC News, 19 May 2023

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Use of private providers damaging NHS eye care, survey reveals

The independent sector should be commissioned to provide more NHS outpatient appointments, rather than just be focused on cutting cataract waiting lists, the president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has said.

A “workforce census” survey carried out by the college and shared with HSJ found almost 60% of respondents believed independent providers were having a “negative impact” on care and ophthalmology services in their area.

Speaking about its findings to HSJ, RCOphth president Bernie Chang said Covid had exacerbated problems caused by use of independent sector providers. These problems included cases being passed back to the NHS when IS care failed, and the NHS being left with a greater concentration of more serious, and costly, cases as the IS focussed on routine cataract operations.

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Source: HSJ, 3 April 2023

 

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Use of antipsychotic drugs among dementia patients increasing, study suggests

Prescribing potentially harmful antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia has increased by more than 50% on average in care homes during the pandemic, new research suggests.

It found that the number of people with dementia receiving these prescriptions had soared from 18% to 28% since 2018 – with prescription rates of over 50% in a third of care homes.

Professor Clive Ballard, who was part of a national campaign in 2009 to reduce antipsychotic prescribing by half, said: “Covid-19 put tremendous pressure on care homes, and the majority of them must be applauded for maintaining relatively low antipsychotic prescribing levels amid incredibly difficult circumstances."

“However, there were very significant rises in antipsychotic prescribing in one third of care homes and we urgently need to find ways to prioritise support to prevent people with dementia being exposed to significant harms.”

Antipsychotic drugs are used to treat some of the more distressing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, such as agitation and psychotic episodes. They have only very limited, short-term benefits in treating psychiatric symptoms in people with dementia – but significantly increase the risk of serious side effects, including stroke, accelerated decline and death.

Dr Richard Oakley, from the Alzheimer’s Society, added: “This study shows the shocking and dangerous scale of the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat people with dementia in care homes.

“Alzheimer’s Society has been campaigning for a move away from the model of ‘medicate first’ and funded research into alternatives to antipsychotic prescriptions, focused on putting people living with dementia at the centre of their own care.

“This drug-free, tailored care can help avoid the loss of lives associated with the harmful side effects of antipsychotic medications.”

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Source: The Independent, 4 August 2022

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Use of antibiotics in farming ‘endangering human immune system’

The blanket use of antibiotics in farming has led to the emergence of bacteria that are more resistant to the human immune system, scientists have warned.

The research suggests that the antimicrobial colistin, which was used for decades as a growth promoter on pig and chicken farms in China, resulted in the emergence of E. coli strains that are more likely to evade our immune system’s first line of defence.

Although colistin is now banned as a livestock food additive in China and many other countries, the findings sound an alarm over a new and significant threat posed by the overuse of antibiotic drugs.

“This is potentially much more dangerous than resistance to antibiotics,” said Prof Craig MacLean, who led the research at the University of Oxford. “It highlights the danger of indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in agriculture. We’ve accidentally ended up compromising our own immune system to get fatter chickens.”

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Source: The Guardian, 25 April 2023

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USA: Why are so many kids losing Medicaid coverage?

At the end of the COVID pandemic, more than half (54%) of US children were covered by Medicaid or CHIP; the vast majority by Medicaid. So, the lifting of the pandemic-related Medicaid continuous enrolment protection this spring is a really big deal, putting low-income children at risk of losing access to health care and/or exposing their families to medical debt.

In fact, researchers at federal Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) projected that just shy of three-quarters of children losing Medicaid would be disenrolled despite remaining eligible. Children are most at risk of losing coverage during the unwinding despite being eligible and the likelihood that the child uninsured rate will go up if states do not take care in the process.

Over half a million children have lost Medicaid already in 21 states where there is data. And that large number doesn’t include Texas, a state that disenrolled more than 500,000 people on June 1st, and where state agency employees recently blew the whistle on systems errors that caused inappropriate terminations.

The Biden Administration must take swift and definitive action to pause all terminations in states with systemic problems. Governors who see large numbers of children losing coverage must pause the process. Coverage must be reinstated for those who lose coverage inappropriately. The time for action to protect children is now.

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Source: McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, 23 August 2023

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USA: What is the healthcare cost of racial health disparities, inequity?

There is a considerable human and healthcare cost that could have been avoided at the onset of COVID-19 had more been done to ameliorate eventual racial health disparities, amounting to thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, according to analysis from Altarum on behalf of Episcopal Health Foundation.

Using figures up until the end of September 2020, the researchers found that had Black and Hispanic people in Texas been hospitalised at the same rate as their White counterparts, the state would have seen 24,000 fewer hospitalisations. That would have amounted to $550 million in healthcare cost savings, the analysis showed.

That is not to mention the human costs associated with racial health disparities during the pandemic. Had Black and Hispanic patients had the same COVID-19 mortality rates as White people, the state of Texas would have seen about 5,000 fewer deaths, cutting the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the state by 30%.

“These numbers are a glaring reminder of how non-medical factors like economic status and living conditions impact health and how COVID-19 is highlighting that in the worst way,” Elena Marks, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, said in a statement. “The human and economic costs of health disparities continue to grow during the pandemic and we’re learning why we can’t address them through medicine alone. Something has to change in Texas.”

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Source: Patient Engagement HIT, 13 January 2021

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USA: Walgreens and CVS warned about selling illegal eye products

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS accusing them of illegally marketing eye care products.

The FDA’s warning letters said the products in question, which were falsely labelled as potential treatments for conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, and pink eye, should be modified if the companies and manufacturers that make and distribute them want to avoid legal action.

“The FDA is committed to ensuring the medicines Americans take are safe, effective and of high quality,” Jill Furman, Director of the Office of Compliance at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “When we identify illegally marketed, unapproved drugs and lapses in drug quality that pose potential risks, the FDA works to notify the companies involved of the violations.”

Ms Furman wrote in the letter sent to Walgreens: “Your ‘Walgreens Allergy Eye Drops,’ ‘Walgreens Stye Eye Drops,’ and ‘Walgreens Pink Eye Drops’ products are especially concerning from a public health perspective. Ophthalmic drug products, which are intended for administration into the eyes … pose a greater risk of harm to users because the route of administration for these products bypasses some of the body’s natural defences.”

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Source: The Independent, 21 September 2023

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USA: Two hospitals broke law by denying abortion

US federal health officials say two hospitals broke the law by denying an abortion to a woman experiencing a life-threatening emergency.

The hospitals, in Kansas and Missouri, are now being probed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The investigation is the first of its kind to be launched since the Supreme Court invalidated the national right to an abortion last year.

After the Supreme Court ruling, the White House warned hospitals that doctors must provide abortions if the health of the patient is at risk - even in states that have banned abortion.

"Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement seen by BBC News.

"We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts."

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Source: BBC News, 1 May 2023

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USA: Top 10 patient safety concerns for 2023

The US Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) has said the paediatric mental health crisis is the most pressing patient safety concern in 2023.

ECRI, which conducts independent medical device evaluations, annually compiles scientific literature and patient safety events, concerns reported to or investigated by the organization, and other data sources to create its top 10 list.

Here are the 10 patient safety concerns for 2023, according to the report: 

1. The pediatric mental health crisis

2. Physical and verbal violence against healthcare staff

3. Clinician needs in times of uncertainty surrounding maternal-fetal medicine

4. Impact on clinicians expected to work outside their scope of practice and competencies

5. Delayed identification and treatment of sepsis

6. Consequences of poor care coordination for patients with complex medical conditions

7. Risks of not looking beyond the "five rights" to achieve medication safety

8. Medication errors resulting from inaccurate patient medication lists

9. Accidental administration of neuromuscular blocking agents

10. Preventable harm due to omitted care or treatment

For the number one spot, ECRI said the COVID-19 pandemic raised the situation, which includes high rates of depression and anxiety among children, to crisis levels. 

ECRI President and CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, said social media, gun violence and other socioeconomic factors were fueling the issue, but COVID-19 pushed it into a crisis.  

"We're approaching a national public health emergency," Dr. Schabacker said in a statement. 

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Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 13 March 2023

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USA: The number one problem keeping hospital CEOs up at night

Workforce problems in US hospitals are troublesome enough for the American College of Healthcare Executives to devote a new category to them in its annual survey on hospital CEOs' concerns. In the latest survey, executives identified "workforce challenges" as the number one concern for the second year in a row.

Although workforce challenges were not seen as the most pressing concern for 16 years, they rocketed to the top quickly and rather universally for US healthcare organisations in the past two years. Most CEOs (90%) ranked shortages of registered nurses as the most pressing within the category of workforce challenges, followed by shortages of technicians (83%) and burnout among non-physician staff (80%). 

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Source: Becker Hospital Review, 13 February 2023

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USA: The GOP blocked an insulin price cap - what it means for diabetics

The Senate passed a sweeping budget package Sunday intended to bring financial relief to Americans, but not before Republican senators voted to strip a proposal that would have capped the price of insulin at $35 per month for many patients.

A proposal that limits the monthly cost of insulin to $35 for Medicare patients was left untouched. But using a parliamentary rule, GOP lawmakers were able to jettison the part of the proposal that would apply to privately insured patients.

Lowering the price of drugs such as insulin, which is used by diabetics to manage their blood sugar levels, is broadly popular with voters, polling shows. Senate Democrats denounced Republicans for voting against relief for Americans struggling to pay for the lifesaving drug.

More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, and about 7 million require insulin daily to manage their blood sugar levels.

The insulin price cap, part of a larger package of proposals to cut prescription drug and other health-care costs, was intended to limit out-of-pocket monthly insulin costs to $35 for most Americans who use insulin.

More than 1 in 5 insulin users on private medical insurance pay more than $35 per month for the medicine, according to a recent analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The same analysis found that the median monthly savings for those people would range from $19 to $27, depending on their type of insurance market.

A Yale University study found insulin is an “extreme financial burden” for more than 14% of Americans who use it. These people are spending more than 40% of their income after food and housing costs on the medicine.

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Source: The Washington Post, 8 August 2022

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USA: Surgeons concerned about impending cuts to surgical care

A new survey of more than 1,000 surgeons across the USA reiterates concerns that impending cuts to surgical care, set to take effect on 1 January 1 2023, will lead to a decrease in Medicare patient intake, increased delays to care, and longer wait times for patients in surgical practices. These survey results support the efforts of the over one million physician and non-physician healthcare providers joining together in urging congressional leadership to stop the full cut to Medicare payments through a Week of Action.

"Our survey results confirm that the impending cuts to Medicare payments will be disastrous for patients and their access to life-saving and life-altering care," said Patricia L. Turner, American College of Surgeons Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer. "As our population continues to age, more and more seniors depend on Medicare to receive the care they need. Congressional leadership must protect patients by stopping the full cut to Medicare payments so healthcare providers can focus on delivering high-quality care to patients."

The survey, conducted for the American College of Surgeons, a founding member of the Surgical Care Coalition, found:

  • Around two-thirds of members expect patients will be faced with delays to care (68%) or longer wait times (65%). These are up from 56% and 57%, respectively, in 2021.
  • One-in-three (33%) members say there will be a change in their Medicare patient intake if the cuts were to go into effect, up from 25% in 2021.
  • 20% say they expect to take on fewer new Medicare patients, but that they will keep all existing Medicare patients.
  • While members report feeling the impact from supply chain issues and inflation, surgeons are also sounding the siren around healthcare worker shortages.
  • Over nine-in-ten (93%) report healthcare worker shortages impacting their ability to provide high quality care over the last year. Over three-quarters (77%) report "a great deal of impact" from these shortages.

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Source: CISION PR Newswire, 9 December 2022

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USA: Supreme Court to hear arguments in abortion pill case

The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether to restrict access to mifepristone, a commonly used abortion pill.

It is considered the most significant reproductive rights case since the court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June 2022.

The Biden administration hopes the court will overturn a decision to limit access to the drug over safety concerns raised by anti-abortion groups.

The pill has been legal since 2000.

The current legal battle in the top US court began in November 2022 when the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an umbrella group of anti-abortion doctors and activists, filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.

The group claims that mifepristone is unsafe and further alleges that the federal agency unlawfully approved its use in September 2000 to medically terminate pregnancies through seven weeks gestation.

Mifepristone is used in combination with another drug - misoprostol - for medical abortions, and it is now the most common way to have an abortion in the US.

Medical abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions in 2023, up from 53% in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

In total, more than five million US women have used mifepristone to terminate their pregnancies.

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Source: BBC News, 26 March 2024

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