It’s a rare patient who enjoys a stay in a hospital. But when the noise prevents you from sleeping, the bathroom is dirty, your pain isn’t controlled, the nurses and doctors confuse you … Any of that can make a sick person feel even worse. That’s why the Affordable Care Act mandated that patients get a chance to score hospitals ... Read More »
From airlines to restaurants today, it’s all about the customer experience. Were they treated respectfully and promptly, and did they get what they came for? That’s increasingly true for health care organizations, and UCSD San Diego Health is no different. The 500-physician hospital system is so set on improving its patients’ experience with their doctors that it was about to ... Read More »
Sharp Grossmont Hospital used hidden video cameras to see why drugs were disappearing from operating rooms, but national hospital advocates say that's not the way to do it. Read More »
It may seem that HIV disease and AIDS are a thing of the past, because more effective drugs now keep infected people healthy and alive. It also might seem that targeted educational programs prevent transmission now that we’re nearly four decades into the epidemic. But statistics for 2014 say that’s not quite the case. In San Diego County, 480 people ... Read More »
Sharp Grossmont Hospital has apologized for releasing 14 video clips that included women undergoing obstetric surgery, an error it said constituted a breach of their medical privacy and has led to state and federal agency notification. “We are very sorry that this error occurred and that the privacy of these patients was breached,” the Sharp Grossmont statement said. The hospital ... Read More »
Sharp Grossmont Hospital's video surveillance to track missing anesthesia drugs also captured images of many women in surgery. Read More »
San Diego County hospitals overall have a higher rate of riskier C-sections than all other urban counties in the state. Read More »
The public will soon have quality data about those ambulatory surgical centers that are reimbursed by Medicare. Read More »
The report by the Leapfrog Group, which represents employers who buy health coverage, provides information consumers can use about two types of potentially deadly infections. The data is more specific than what Medicare offers. Read More »
San Diego area doctors seldom complain to their patients about low Medicare pay. But for two long decades, many have complained bitterly to each other. That’s because an old and complex federal formula reimburses physicians here as if they were practicing in “rural” areas, and assumes their costs of rent and staff are low, resembling those in Fresno or El ... Read More »
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