Latest News On Patient Safety

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Are Vital Home Health Workers Now A Safety Threat?

KFF Health News Original

Hundreds of thousands of health care workers go into homes to provide important services for seniors and disabled people. But with the rising concerns about the danger of the coronavirus pandemic, especially for older people, these health workers could be endangering their patients and themselves.

Timeline: History Of Blocking Regulation Of Electronic Health Records

KFF Health News Original

Over the past decade, government efforts to create a national system to track and analyze deaths, injuries and other adverse incidents linked to electronic health records repeatedly have failed amid opposition from the technology industry and its supporters in Congress.

Nursing Home Safety Violations Put Residents At Risk, Report Finds

KFF Health News Original

A federal audit of 19 California nursing homes released today found hundreds of violations of safety and emergency standards, putting vulnerable nursing home residents at increased risk of injury or death during a wildfire or other disaster.

‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed

KFF Health News Original

In what experts call an “epidemic of immobility,” older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that’s key to their health and daily functioning.

Purveyors Of Black-Market Pharmaceuticals Target Immigrants

KFF Health News Original

Illegal medications, sold in immigrant communities around the United States, can cause serious harm to consumers, authorities say. Law enforcement officers are cracking down, but some think more must be done.

If You Smoke Pot, Your Anesthesiologist Needs To Know

KFF Health News Original

Colorado is on the front lines in dealing with how marijuana use affects surgery. Lessons learned on operating tables and in recovery rooms have prompted calls for more research on marijuana nationwide.

FDA Overlooked Red Flags In Drugmaker’s Testing of New Depression Medicine

KFF Health News Original

In March, a chemical cousin of the anesthetic and club drug ketamine was approved for the treatment of patients with intractable depression. But critics say studies presented to the FDA provided at best modest evidence it worked and did not include information about the safety of the drug, Spravato, for long-term use.