John Manning
Guest
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 Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:50 pm Post subject: California fines 18 hospitals for shoddy care |
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U.S. HAS "BEST HEALTHCARE IN THE WORLD"
- SURE IT DOES
California fines 18 hospitals for shoddy care that endangered, killed
patients
SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER
AP News, Aug 19, 2008
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/08/california_fines_18_hospitals.php
Eighteen hospitals in California were fined for state health code
violations in which patients died from various mishaps such as an
improperly inserted tube and a ventilator that wasn't turned on. Other
violations include surgical tools left inside patients after surgery.
The fines made public Monday stem from investigations by the California
Department of Public Health that found shoddy care had either killed or
endangered the lives of several patients. The hospitals were each fined
$25,000 — the latest of dozens of penalties the state has issued in
recent years to more than 40 hospitals.
"The number of penalties will decrease and the quality of care will
dramatically improve as hospitals take action to improve," said Kathleen
Billingsley, director of the health department's Center for Healthcare
Quality. "The entire intent of these fines is to improve the overall
quality of care in California."
The report detailed a death at a La Mesa hospital in which a worker
failed to turn on a ventilator for a patient who was being transferred.
Another patient in Los Alamitos died after falling from a wheelchair
with no seat belt on, and a Santa Ana hospital lost a patient from a
medication overdose.
At Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, a registered nurse improperly
inserted a catheter into a patient's neck vein on Sept. 1, and the
patient died as a result of an air bubble from the tube. The report
found the nurse had not completed a required anatomy class or the
hospital's training on protocol.
Defending himself in the report, the unidentified male nurse told
investigators, "I am the pro of the hospital. The other nurses call me
to put in IVs that they cannot get in."
A message seeking comment from the medical center was not returned Monday.
In other cases, patients had surgical instruments or sponges left inside
their bodies during surgery, requiring a second surgery to retrieve the
misplaced items. The report also found some patients experienced
surgical awareness during their procedures due to improper anesthesia.
The state has issued 61 such penalties to 42 hospitals, Billingsley said. |
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Raleigh
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:56 am Post subject: Re: California fines 18 hospitals for shoddy care |
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On Aug 19, 11:50 am, John Manning <jrobe...@terra.com.br> wrote:
| Quote: | U.S. HAS "BEST HEALTHCARE IN THE WORLD"
- SURE IT DOES
California fines 18 hospitals for shoddy care that endangered, killed
patients
SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER
AP News, Aug 19, 2008http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/08/california_fines_18_hospita...
Eighteen hospitals in California were fined for state health code
violations in which patients died from various mishaps such as an
improperly inserted tube and a ventilator that wasn't turned on. Other
violations include surgical tools left inside patients after surgery.
The fines made public Monday stem from investigations by the California
Department of Public Health that found shoddy care had either killed or
endangered the lives of several patients. The hospitals were each fined
$25,000 — the latest of dozens of penalties the state has issued in
recent years to more than 40 hospitals.
"The number of penalties will decrease and the quality of care will
dramatically improve as hospitals take action to improve," said Kathleen
Billingsley, director of the health department's Center for Healthcare
Quality. "The entire intent of these fines is to improve the overall
quality of care in California."
The report detailed a death at a La Mesa hospital in which a worker
failed to turn on a ventilator for a patient who was being transferred.
Another patient in Los Alamitos died after falling from a wheelchair
with no seat belt on, and a Santa Ana hospital lost a patient from a
medication overdose.
At Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, a registered nurse improperly
inserted a catheter into a patient's neck vein on Sept. 1, and the
patient died as a result of an air bubble from the tube. The report
found the nurse had not completed a required anatomy class or the
hospital's training on protocol.
Defending himself in the report, the unidentified male nurse told
investigators, "I am the pro of the hospital. The other nurses call me
to put in IVs that they cannot get in."
A message seeking comment from the medical center was not returned Monday..
In other cases, patients had surgical instruments or sponges left inside
their bodies during surgery, requiring a second surgery to retrieve the
misplaced items. The report also found some patients experienced
surgical awareness during their procedures due to improper anesthesia.
The state has issued 61 such penalties to 42 hospitals, Billingsley said.
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One thing affecting quality of care is reimbursement.
Very few hospitals collect the fees that they charge for their
services. While I agree that substandard care is not acceptable on the
grounds of economics, it would be a good idea to understand why things
are this way. Since payroll is the biggest expense of any business,
more funding to help meet the payroll of a more competent and
qualified staff would help.
U.S. healthcare is half-assed socialist, because the federal
government pretends that it reimburses hospitals for the costs of
treatment under some programs. Actually, it sets the level of fees it
is willing to pay. Thus, it does not actually pay for care; it just
subsidizes care. The hospital has to figure out how to make a profit
on the percentage of UCR that the government actually pays. Insurance
companies also refuse to pay the full fee for anything. And out of
humanitarian concerns, emergency care is mandated for the indigent,
whether they pay or not.
The pretend is that the medical care system in the U.S. is for profit,
but there is no way that a profit can be made. It becomes a shell game
of the insurance company trying to find an excuse to refuse payment,
and the hospital trying to find more creative ways of billing to force
the insurance company to pay. But, since the insurance companies are
a billion dollar business like the oil industry, guess who wins?
When was the last time you bought gas, and got away with telling the
station owner that you were only going to pay him $1.50 a gallon
because his fees were too high?
Raleigh |
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