My lede:

A bill that would give Massachusetts patients the right to have a video recording of their surgery is drawing opposition from organizations representing physicians and hospitals.

Hearings on the bill and related medical legislation were held in June before the Joint House-Senate Committee on Public Health.

“The costs would be paid by the patient, and the camera would be there if the family wanted to see what went on in the operating room,” said State Rep. Martin J. Walsh, who filed the bill.

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My lede:

The National Quality Forum in June proposed an updated version of its list of serious reportable events, such as medication errors that kill or gravely injure patients.

Hospitals in 24 states and the District of Columbia are required to report on some version of the National Quality Forum’s list, and items from the list have been selected for nonpayment by private health plans, Medicare and many state Medicaid programs.

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My lede:

About 60% of emergency physicians say they have less empathy for so-called frequent-flier patients who visit the ED more than 10 times a year.

Nearly 80% told researchers they hold some bias against these patients, and 82% said caring for them contributes to their level of burnout, according to survey data presented at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s June annual meeting in Boston.

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Family members who make life-or-death decisions for loved ones are at high risk for anxiety and depression. Here’s how to ease the strain.

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My lede:

Every year, adverse drug events send more adult patients to American physician offices and emergency departments than do pneumonia or strep throat.

The trips add up to an estimated 4.5 million annual outpatient visits related to medication problems, with seniors and patients taking more than six medications the most likely to show up in doctors’ offices.

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My lede:

A New York bill that is the first of its kind in the nation would make participation in torture or interrogation of prisoners grounds for board discipline of physicians and other health professionals.

Dozens of medical students and other health professionals in training lobbied in favor of the legislation in late May, meeting with nearly 40 New York state legislators, said Allen Keller, MD. He helped organize the lobbying trip and directs the Bellevue Hospital Center/New York University Program for Survivors of Torture in New York City.

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My lede:

When it comes to providing primary care, physicians should adopt the motto of the German minimalist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: “Less is more.”

That is the message of a set of recommendations published online May 23 in Archives of Internal Medicine that advises internists, family physicians and pediatricians on the top five commonly ordered interventions that should be avoided in each of their specialties.

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