Misconfigured server at BJC HealthCare exposed patient data
A misconfigured server at St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare left patient data exposed for more than eight months before the error was discovered. The incident follows the second-largest reported data breach in 2018, when St. Peter’s Surgery & Endoscopy Center in Albany, New York, informed more than 134,000 patients that a cyberattack on its servers potentially exposed personal and medical data. (FierceHealthcare)
Interview: Diagnostic process a surprising factor in medical errors
Diagnostic errors are a leading cause of liability claims, and a new report examines where the major vulnerabilities lie in the diagnostic process. Coverys, a Boston-based medical liability insurer, examined 10,618 closed medical professional liability claims from 2013-2017 to determine areas for improvement in diagnostic accuracy. One surprising step that’s ripe for error? The initial gathering of a patient's medical and family history, Robert Hanscom, one of the report's co-authors and vice president of business analytics at Coverys, told FierceHealthcare in an interview. (FierceHealthcare)
Nation's capitol is facing a maternal health crisis
The District of Columbia is facing a “maternal health crisis," said District Council member Charles Allen, who wrote a bill to create a maternal mortality review committee. Mothers in the nation’s capitol are twice as likely to die because of pregnancy than the average American woman. Local officials are also pressing for information on protocols for caring for women in high-risk pregnancies at the embattled United Medical Center. (The Washington Post)
Northwell Health looks at drones to improve emergency care
Northwell Health's next foray into telehealth could come by way of drone. There’s still plenty of red tape to cut through, but the New York-based health system is already looking for ways to test those airways, according to Purna Prasad, Ph.D., the organization’s chief technology officer. “This is actually our next foray into telehealth,” Prasad told FierceHealthcare during an interview at the annual HIMSS conference in Las Vegas. (FierceHealthcare)
Rice University says good training improves outcomes across the board
Training teams of physicians and clinicians can lead to a significant cut in patient mortality, according to new research from Rice University. The study reviewed 129 previous studies with more than 23,000 participants that were conducted between 2013 and 2017. “When training is implemented correctly, the result is improved outcomes across the board, both for patients and employees,” said Eduardo Salas, chair of the psychology department at Rice and the study’s lead author. “The most significant outcome is the reduction of patient mortality by 13%.” (FierceHealthcare)