veterans health administration
Few hospitals aggressively combat catheter-associated urinary tract infections
Hospitals are working harder than ever to prevent hospital-acquired infections, but a nationwide survey shows few are aggressively combating the most common one — catheter-associated urinary tract infections. In the survey by…
Researchers measure quality of care in oral anticoagulation
(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the Bedford VA Medical Center believe that risk-adjusted percent time in therapeutic range (TTR) should be used as part of an effort to improve anticoagulation control and…
Returning troops face both physical and mental challenges
Is the US health system comprehensively meeting the needs of returning veterans? With the recent attention to mental illness in returning soldiers, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in particular, little research has focused on the medical c…
Study points to methods for safe drug dispensing via computer
Researchers have found that a new computer system that uses bar codes to safeguard patients’ medications will work successfully, but not without creating new, serious problems for nurses charged with patient care. “In general, we viewed the system as successful. There are no magic bullet solutions to human error in any setting, and even the best systems will require constant maintenance and flexible redesign after implementation,” said Emily Patterson, a research specialist in Ohio State’s Institute for Ergonomics.