The New York Times article noted: “Although most of us claim no desire to die with a tube down our throat and on a ventilator, the fact is, as Katy Butler reminds us in “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” a fifth of American deaths now take place in intensive care, where 10 days of futile flailing can cost as much as $323,000… .” (more…)
An NPR story noted: “Of the 5 million Americans with failing hearts, about half of them will die within five years of getting diagnosed. Given the odds, it seems that people with heart failure should start thinking about how they want to die. But doctors don’t routinely talk to those patients about end-of-life planning.”
“When researchers asked 50 doctors and 45 nurse practitioners and physician assistants how often they discuss preparing for death with their heart failure patients. A third of the providers said they lacked confidence in talking about end-of-life care. Only 12 percent said they have routine yearly discussions about the end of life.” (more…)
The Brookings Institution article noted: “While antibiotics are necessary and crucial for treating bacterial infections, their misuse over time has contributed to a rather alarming rate of antibiotic resistance, including the development of multidrug-resistance bacteria or ‘super bugs.’ Misuse manifests throughout all corners of public and private life; from the doctor’s office when prescribed to treat viruses; to industrial agriculture, where they are used in abundance to prevent disease in livestock.” (more…)
The NPR story noted: “In the emergency department at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, pharmacists who specialize in emergency medicine review each medication to make sure it’s the right one in the right dose. It’s part of the hospital’s efforts to cut down on medication errors and dangerous drug interactions, which contribute to more than 7,000 deaths across the country each year.”
“Medication errors can be caused by something as simple as bad handwriting, confusion between drugs with similar names, poor packaging design or confusion between metric or other dosing units, according to the Food and Drug Administration. But they’re often due to a combination of factors, which makes them harder to prevent.” (more…)
The Wall Street Journal article noted: “The aim is to move patients and doctors into a relationship of shared accountability. Health-care providers are giving patients more access to their medical records so they can help spot and correct errors and omissions.”
“Studies show errors can occur on as many as 95% of the medication lists found in patient medical records. Errors include outdated data and omissions that many patients could readily identify, including prescription drugs that are no longer taken and incorrect data about frequency or dosage. Patients also are being asked to fill in the blanks about pain relievers and other over-the-counter medications, as well as supplements and vitamins, all of which can interact with prescription drugs.” (more…)