Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Report Shows Sewage Leaks Persisted For Months At D.C. Hospital
"A black, grainy foul-smelling substance" coated the floor聽of an operating room at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, which also suffered from at least one "active leak" of sewage, according to a review by the District of Columbia health department last August. That health department report was cited in a lawsuit聽filed against the hospital by the husband of a woman who died from a post-operative infection after surgery at the hospital, where the operating rooms had suffered from leaks of bacteria-filled sewage for months. (O'Donnell, 4/2)
Cambridge Health Alliance on Friday said that it has notified patients of a data breach that resulted in billing information for 2,500 people landing in the hands of an 鈥渦nauthorized third party.鈥 Officials with the healthcare provider, which operates numerous hospitals and primary care centers north of Boston, do not know whether the breach was the result of an intentional hack, or whether the data was inadvertently made public, CHA spokesman David Cecere said in an e-mail Friday night. (Ruckstuhl and Carozza, 3/31)
Forget bulky paper medical records or large electronic files available only upon request.Patients at two Chicago hospital systems will soon be able to see, and carry, their health records on their iPhones. Rush University Medical Center and University of Chicago Medicine are among 39 health systems across the country working with Apple on its updated Health app, part of Apple鈥檚 newest iPhone operating system released this week. Patients will be able to have information about allergies, medical conditions, vital signs, immunizations, medications, procedures and lab results sent directly to the app. (Schencker, 3/30)
Generations of first-year residents at Johns Hopkins Hospital have worn a short white coat as they made rounds and treated patients. The coat was different than the the longer style the other residents wore. It was meant to symbolize a year of learning 鈥 that residents were not true physicians until they spent some time on the job caring for patients. (McDaniels, 4/2)
