The lede:

A new study finding a much higher rate of pediatric hospital adverse drug events than previously thought sparked the Joint Commission last month to issue an alert advising physicians and hospitals how to reduce such mistakes.

About 11% of child patients experience adverse drug events during hospitalizations, according to an April study in Pediatrics — a rate nearly five times higher than in previous studies.

Despite the higher rate, the review of 960 randomly selected charts from 12 children’s hospitals showed that more than three-quarters of the medication side effects were unpreventable. But the study said 17.8% of side effects could have been identified earlier, and 16.8% could have been mitigated more effectively.

The whole shebang.

The lede:

It was 10 springs ago that a Portland woman in her mid-80s sat to talk about her impending death. Doctors guessed the metastatic breast cancer wracking her body would kill her within two months. As the city shook off its winter slumber, the woman — whose identity is still a secret — anticipated her eternal rest.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said in a recording later made available to reporters. “I can’t see myself living a few more months like this.”

Disease set her on the path toward death, but the woman was determined to choose when and how to take her final steps. For that, she needed a doctor’s help.

The whole shebang.

The lede:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last month proposed to stop paying for nine hospital-associated conditions that it says can be prevented and that cost Medicare about $25 billion last year.

The nine conditions would join a list of eight others adopted last year. CMS will stop paying for those eight this October. While some welcomed the proposal as a sign Medicare is stepping up efforts to encourage hospitals to improve patient safety, others said CMS should wait to see how implementation of the first round of no-pay conditions unfolds.

The whole shebang.

The lede:

The number of disciplinary actions against doctors by state medical boards has fallen for three straight years.

Nationwide, total disciplinary actions are down 15% from a 2004 high, according to an April report by the Federation of State Medical Boards. Prejudicial actions, which include serious discipline such as license revocations and suspensions, have dropped 17% from 2004 to 2007.

The news comes on the heels of intense scrutiny of boards in Kansas and Nevada and legislation proposed or enacted in more than a dozen states aimed at strengthening medical boards’ powers.

The whole shebang.