CDC: Smoking deaths cost $92 billion

From CNN.com
Early deaths caused by smoking cost the nation about $92 billion in lost productivity between 1997 and 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
Smoking reduces life expectancy an average of about 14 years by way of lung cancer, heart disease other illnesses, according to the CDC.
In the study, “lost productivity” meant [...]

Altered Standards of Care in Mass Casualty Events

From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), excerpted below. The webpage has a link to the reoprt and recommendations.
Mong the recommendations:-Develop general and event-specific guidelines for allocating scarce health and medical resources -Implement a process to address nonmedical (i.e., finance, communication) issues related to the delivery of health and medical care -Develop a [...]

Move EMS from DOT to DHS?

Another article from JEMS, excerpted below:
A Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) task force announced today that EMS would be more appropriately delegated to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) than under its current administration by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The task force makes the assertion that “the time is ripe for EMS [...]

Gunshot-Wound Patient Slain in EMS Presence

From JEMS magazine, excerpted below:
Seventeen-year-old Billie Rutledge lay on a stretcher, bleeding from handgun wounds and yelling for help, while Detroit paramedics rushed to remove his clothing on Saturday, June 7, according to Free Press. However, before the paramedics could finish assessing him, the masked assailant returned to the scene, now armed with a shotgun, [...]

ER Stats

From the National Center for Health Statistics “FASTATS” Emergency Department Visits page, (Data are for U.S. for 2003)
Number of visits: 113.9 million
Number of injury-related visits: 40.2 million
Number of illness-related visits: 74 million
Number of visits per 100 persons: 38.9
Most commonly diagnosed condition: acute respiratory infection
Percent of visits with patient seen in less than 15 minutes: [...]

Air Transport of Brain Injured Patients

Some good news for fans of air medical transport (we’ve been under fire lately), from an article on WNEP, based on research published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine:
A study finds patients with traumatic brain injuries who are transported by medical helicopters have higher chances of survival and better recoveries than ground-transported patients, according to [...]

Unknown Illness Forces SLU Emergency Room To Divert Patients

From KSDK Newschannel 5’s website, excerpted below:
“Unknown Illness Forces SLU Emergency Room To Divert Patients”
An unknown illness in a patient caused doctors and health officials to shut off access to the emergency room at St. Louis University Hospital.
Around noon Thursday, a female was admitted with symptoms including a fever and a rash. Doctors initially suspected [...]

Precription for Doctors: E-mail

An excellent article from USA Today, excerpted below:
“Prescription for doctors: E-mail”
In a 2002 survey by Harris Interactive, 90% of adults with Internet access indicated they want to communicate with their physicians via e-mail. But a survey last year by Manhattan Research, a marketing information and services firm, found that less than 20% of physicians communicate [...]

Hospital Construction Kickbacks

Another interesting story from Modern Physician, excerpted below:
“Ill. construction exec pleads guilty in kickback scandal”
A Chicago construction company owner pleaded guilty yesterday to paying bribes to the former vice chairman of Illinois’ certificate-of-need board to direct hospital and medical school construction projects to his company.
In his plea, Kiferbaum confessed to paying Levine millions in [...]

EMTALA Violations

Excerpted from Modern Healthcare:
Four hospitals and health systems collectively paid $105,000 to settle alleged violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act with HHS’ inspector general, Modern Healthcare has learned.
Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center, a 186-bed hospital located in Sebring, and owned by the Winter Park, Fla.-based Adventist Health System Sunbelt Health [...]