The American Hospital Association is gathering its members at a Leadership Summit this July, the theme of which is "Hospitals Leading Health Care's Transformation." The claim in the title struck me as quite unlikely. Two images came to mind: one of...
'Shift Happens' has been posted on the wall of my office for many years. As a change management consultant, I placed it there as a reminder that the work I do within organizations and with executives occurs, oftentimes, at a snail's pace...
We know from a CodeBlueNow! Pulse survey that 69% of voters in red state Iowa think licensed practitioners like chiropractors, acupuncturists and naturopathic physicians should be included in basic benefits. Now a follow-up survey, using the same...
The blood transfusion is a standard procedure in our hospitals, and many of us regard it as our social duty to give blood. Around 2.5 million units of blood are collected in the UK every year, and around half is used during elective and emergency...
We all know that our hospitals are no place to be if you're sick. Overworked staff who are deprived of sleep are so error-prone that a hospital is one of the most dangerous places to be. And if staff ineptitude doesn't get you, MRSA might.
Spare a thought for the junior doctor. He's constantly bullied, he works ridiculously long shifts, he's often called 'pond scum' by those further up the greasy pole of medicine. He's also hopeless when it comes to the human body.
Newspapers have recently been full of reports about MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus], the so-called ‘superbug’, which is affecting more and more people in our hospitals.