Christina Spencer's blog

The Globe and Mail columnist Paul Taylor reports on a study showing a lack of improvement in patient safety. However, the study's senior author Dr. Paul Sharek argues that the findings should not be interpreted as we can’t make a difference, but rather large-scale patient safety improvement is challenging.

It’s one of those statistics that would make most people feel uneasy: About 18 per cent of patients admitted to hospitals in industrialized countries suffer some kind of “adverse event” while in the care of the medical system.

They may be given an inappropriate medication, pick up an antibiotic-resistant infection or fall on the way to the toilet. Most hospital mishaps are minor and don’t result in lasting harm. But in some cases the patient’s life is cut short.

Health-care experts are well aware of these problems, and many medical institutions, including those in Canada, have been trying to minimize them.

New York Times columnist Pauline W. Chen M.D looks into the importance of the nonclinical patient experience; how significant of a role does your hospital room play in your overall patient experience?

During a conversation with the wife of one of my former surgery patients, I was surprised to learn that her husband had chosen to receive his postoperative chemotherapy treatments at a hospital across town from mine. His wife assured me that he had liked the highly respected colleague I had referred him to; what had troubled him was that the doctor’s office and the hospital chemotherapy infusion suites were, well, depressing.

The Change Foundation has published an update on its 2010-2013 strategic plan Hearing the stories, changing the story which focuses on advancing a patient-centred health-care system in Ontario.

A free 60 minute audio program from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) on the patient activist. The 'talk-show' program is bi-weekly, timely and it’s designed to help dedicated legions of health care improvers worldwide keep up with some of the freshest and most robust thinking and strategies for improving patient care.

Infection Preventionists are part of a new evolution in healthcare facilities to prevent the estimated 99,000 avoidable deaths a year caused by bacteria and infection. Toronto Star journalist Lauren Neergaard looks at how one Baltimore teaching hospital puts new infection-control techniques into practise.

This is no ordinary intensive care unit: Every doctor, nurse, friend or loved one must cover their clothes with a bright yellow gown and don purple gloves before entering a patient’s room so some scary germs don’t hitch a ride in or out.

It’s part of the University of Maryland Medical Center’s crackdown on hospital-spread infections, and Michael Anne Preas patrols the ICU like a cop on the beat to help keep bacteria in check.

You forgot your gloves, Preas leans in to tell a doctor-in-training who’s about to examine a man with a breathing tube. Startled, the resident immediately washes his hands and grabs a pair.

The first annual Patients' Choice Awards was a success! Read coverage of the awards ceremony by the Peterborough Examiner.

Peterborough doctors Carolyn Brown and David Newport won the inaugural Patients' Choice Awards on Wednesday, states a press release from the Ontario Medical Association (OMA).

Brown and Newport, family doctors at the Peterborough Clinic Family Health Team, were nominated by their patients for the exceptional care they have provided, the release states.

"This award is a way for patients to honour their physicians who have demonstrated exceptional health care by looking beyond treatment and focusing on the well-being of their patient," states Sholom Glouberman, president of Patients Association of Canada (PAC) in the release.

The PAC is a patient-led and patient-governed association that aims to increase the presence of the patient voice in health care, the release states.

NDP MPP Rosario Marchese wants to expand the mandate of the Ombudsman so that he can do more to protect Ontarians.

“There’s this enormous frustration out there. When people with complaints about these public institutions try to get answers, they hit a wall. Ontarians need somewhere to turn when no one else is listening,” said Marchese.

Indeed, over the last five years, the Ombudsman has been unable to investigate any of the more than 4,000 complaints he has about the following institutions:

On November 30th, TVO hosted a full-hour debate on the need for patient-centred health care in Ontario where PAC president Sholom Glouberman and others shared their views. Is this just the new mantra reformers are repeating or is there a serious deficit when it comes to patient consideration in health care planning?

Sholom Glouberman appeared on the panel and he contributed a very moving excerpt from his upcoming book "My Operation: A Health Insider Becomes a Patient," (Health and Everything Publications, January 2011) on the Inside Agenda producers' blog which you can find here.

If you missed the show, it will be available by podcast or to stream by video. These can be accessed via the show link here.