Connecticut 47th of 50 States in Discipline of Doctors

Health Department defends discipline of doctors

Updated: Friday, 25 May 2012, 1:30 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 25 May 2012, 1:30 PM EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A spokesman for the state Department of Public Health is defending how Connecticut punishes doctors after a study by a consumer advocacy group showed the state has one of the lowest physician discipline rates in the country.

William Gerrish  told the Journal Inquirer that last week's report by Public Citizen focused only on a narrow slice of information about serious disciplinary actions and ignored the wide variety of sanctions imposed by the state Medical Examining Board including reprimands, censures and fines.

Public Citizen said Connecticut ranked 47th out of 50 states and Washington, D.C., in taking serious actions against doctors including license suspension and revocation.

The study said Connecticut took less than two serious actions per 1,000 doctors, when the national rate was about three per 1,000.

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Information from: Journal Inquirer

JAMA Finds a Relationship Between Patient Mortality and Nurse Staffing Levels

Hospitals with high patient to nurse ratios experience a higher mortality rate among surgical patients according to the Journal of the American Medical Society.  Below are results of a study conducted by JAMA.

After adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics (size, teaching status, and technology), each additional patient per nurse was associated with a 7% (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.12) increase in the likelihood of dying within 30 days of admission and a 7% (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.11) increase in the odds of failure-to-rescue. After adjusting for nurse and hospital characteristics, each additional patient per nurse was associated with a 23% (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.13-1.34) increase in the odds of burnout and a 15% (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.07-1.25) increase in the odds of job dissatisfaction.

Conclusions  In hospitals with high patient-to-nurse ratios, surgical patients experience higher risk-adjusted 30-day mortality and failure-to-rescue rates, and nurses are more likely to experience burnout and job dissatisfaction.

For the complete study go to:  http://jama.jamanetwork.com

Michael Quinn, Esq.

Hospital Survey by HHS

• Did doctors treat patients with courtesy and respect?
• How often were the room and bathroom cleaned?
• Was the area around the room quiet?
• Did the patient get immediate help after pressing a Call button?
•  www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov  To review the results.

These are some of the questions that were asked in a recent survey taken from patients at random from 2,500 hospitals nationally.  

You will not be surprised to learn that many patients feel that they were poorly treated while in the hospital.

Michael Quinn, Esq.

United States v. Arizona

The Supreme Court heard argument on Arizona's controversial law that is intended to target illegal aliens.  The United States sued Arizona claiming that the US Government was the sole authority regarding immigration law and enforcement.

Apparently Chief Justice Roberts aggressively questioned the government's lawyer.  Roberts characterized the law as merely information gathering by the state.

However, because the law requires a person suspected of being illegal to prove his or her citizenship status prior to the police releasing them, a US citizen who walks their dog at night without the necessary identification could spend the night in jail.  Balancing the rights of those legally in the country with those who are not consumed much of the argument.  Justice Scalia expressed his view that we should simply deport "these people."

For more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/opinion/arizona-v-united-states.html?_r=1

by Michael Quinn, Esq.

Unlimited Spending By Corporations and Unions - Bad For Democracy

In 2010 the United States Supreme Court concluded that the Congressional ban on unlimited spending by special interest groups was unconstitutional.  Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 08-205 (2010), 558 U.S. ––––, 130 S.Ct. 876 (January 21, 2010.  


We have seen some of the effects of this in the Republican primaries where a single rich individual or corporation can effectively continue to prop up a candidate when the public has lost interest in that candidate.  It allows for vicious attack ads that no candidate has to take responsibility for and it effectively allows one candidate to spend disproportionately to other candidates.


The real danger from this decision comes in local, state and judicial elections.  In these smaller elections a candidate who angers a large corporation or union in his or her district may find a well financed attack machine that is spending out of proportion to the candidates themselves.  The effect is likely to result in the district having representatives who rubber stamp anything the corporation or union wants.  This is not good for democracy because it gives a disproportionate voice to the person, union or corporation that has the money to drown out other voices.  


You will hear discussions of this during the 2012 Presidential race.  The place to look for its real effect is at the local and state level.


by Michael Quinn, Esq,

Some Hospitals Using Collection Agencies to Register Patients

Accretive Health, a collection and management company has contracts with struggling hospitals around the country to assist with the collection of hospital bills.  In some cases the registration and billing departments of some hospitals have been turned over to collection agencies.  In an investigation in Minnesota, for example, it is claimed some patients have been required to pay prior to receiving medical services.

 Accretive reported net income of $29.2 million dollars last year up 130%.

There have been complaints by the medical  staff at hospitals where these techniques are being employed, that patients are failing to seek life saving procedures because of these collection techniques.

This raises more questions about what will happen if the new health care law is struck down.  Many of the people who are prey to these collection agencies lack health insurance.  Without a health care plan the numbers of people subjected to these strong-are tactics will only increase.   For more go the Bloomberg News.

awayne3@bloomberg.net

by Michael Quinn, Esq.

Antibiotics in Animals: The Human Impact

The FDA has proposed a rule change regarding the use of antibiotics in animal feed and water.  For 35 years the FDA has been working with farmers who raise chickens, pork and beef to limit the use of antibiotics in otherwise healthy animals.  Currently 80% of all antibiotics sold in the United States is used in animal feed and water, almost all for healthy animals.  The rule change would simply require a prescription for the use of antibiotics in animals.

The concern with the excessive use of antibiotics is the development of resistant strains of bacteria that cause disease in humans.  Each year 99,000 humans die from hospital-acquired infections.  In an earlier post I  discussed MRSA one of the most wide spread of the super-bugs.   For more information go to www.fda.gov and  fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance

by Michael Quinn, Esq.