News From Around the Web
> Doctors are warming up to the idea of patients using online symptom checkers, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal. "People tend to freak out when they read all the scary conditions they might, but don't actually, have," Mark Graber, M.D. president of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine and senior fellow at nonprofit research concern RTI International, told WSJ. "[But] suggesting a range of possibilities to your M.D. might help prevent the premature closure errors that underlie so many diagnostic errors." Article
Provider News
> When it comes to patient care, sometimes doing nothing is better, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings that determined 146 contemporary medical interventions are ineffective or do more harm than good. Researchers analyzed 1,344 original articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine between 2001 and 2010 that examined a new medical practice or tested an existing one. Article
> After using a two-part checklist, a Vermont dialysis center affiliated with Fletcher Allen Health Care saw better patient safety and more time for staff to finish clinical documentation. The checklist, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Prevention Collaborative, helped workers ensure proper cleaning between outpatient hemodialysis to prevent bloodstream infections caused by cross-contamination. Article
Medical Imaging News
> A Kansas hospital is asking 244 patients who have undergone colonoscopies in its facilities since early January to undergo blood testing after determining that endoscopes used during the procedures were not cleaned and disinfected according to the manufacturer's specifications. Article
And Finally… I'm sure customers weren't lovin' this. Article