Consumer Law

When it comes to patient safety, Nevadans are still waiting to join the party

By Andy Hoffman

Loyal readers of ThePopTort may recall that Nevada?s severe cap on compensation for injured malpractice patients was being reevaluated by the state?s legislature after some 50,000 patients were exposed to Hepatitis C via ?reused syringes and vials? at an area clinic.  The crux of the debate: whether in light of the dirty syringe scandal, a degree of compassion might be ?injected? into the law by allowing the cap to be waived in cases of ?gross negligence.?

So where might Nevada lawmakers look for guidance as they continue their deliberations?  One place would be Oklahoma?s conservative legislature, which recently said ?OK? to just such an exception?allowing caps to be waived in cases of ?gross negligence or catastrophic injury.?

Meanwhile, as malpractice, including hospital infections, continues to harm Nevandans on a daily basis, it turns out they have better access to the health records of restaurants than they do hospitals, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal?even though 26 states have enacted laws that require hospitals to report infection rate data.

"Infection rates are something consumers need to know and want to know," said Cheri Glockner, public relations director at Carson Tahoe Regional Healthcare in Carson City?and for good reason.  The Centers for Disease Control reports that healthcare-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths in American hospitals each year. 

But unfortunately, due to pressure from the hospital lobbies, the Nevada legislature has now amended and severely weakened a bill that would have required methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) reporting. 

Of course, in the end, all of this is to say?here?s hoping our friends from Nevada are given the chance to join the patient safety party?and  soon!

Full post as published by ThePopTort on May 12, 2009 (boomark / email).