Brett Kelman

Author's posts

Doctors Rush to Use Supreme Court Ruling to Escape Opioid Charges

After a unanimous ruling from the high court, doctors who are accused of writing irresponsible prescriptions can go to trial with a new defense: It wasn’t on purpose.

They Lost Medicaid When Paperwork Was Sent to an Empty Field, Signaling the Mess to Come

Tennessee expects to soon disenroll about 300,000 people from its Medicaid program. But families like the Lesters have suffered when bureaucracy and clerical mistakes caused them to unfairly lose coverage under the same program.

They lost Medicaid when paperwork was sent to a pasture, signaling the mess to come

Tennessee expects to soon disenroll about 300,000 people from Medicaid. But families like the Lesters have been entangled in bureaucracy and clerical mistakes, causing them to unfairly lose coverage.

Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Is Killing Patients. Yet There Is a Simple Way to Stop It.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia not tied to ventilators is one of the most common infections that strike within health care facilities. But few hospitals take steps to prevent it, which can be as simple as dutifully brushing patients’ teeth.

Widely Used Hospital Gowns Show Signs of Exposing Workers to Infection

Isolation gowns are supposed to protect health care workers from splattered bodily fluids. But new studies suggest that too much liquid seeps through some disposable gowns, creating a risk of infection.

This Rural, Red Southern County Was a Vaccine Success Story. Not Anymore.

Meigs County in Tennessee reported one of the highest covid-19 vaccination rates in the South for much of the past year. But those reports were wrong because of a data error that has surfaced in other states as well.

Tennessee nurse convicted in lethal drug error sentenced to three years probation

RaDonda Vaught’s prosecution was widely condemned by nurses, who said it set a dangerous precedent that would worsen the nursing shortage and make them less forthcoming about admitting mistakes.

No Prison Time for Tennessee Nurse Convicted of Fatal Drug Error

Hundreds of nurses gathered outside a Nashville courthouse to protest RaDonda Vaught’s prosecution for a medical mistake, and cheered when her probation sentence was announced.

At US Hospitals, a Drug Mix-Up Is Just a Few Keystrokes Away

After a Tennessee nurse killed a patient because of a drug error, the companies behind hospital medication cabinets said they’d make the devices safer. But did they?

A Travel Nurse Leaves Fears of Hospital Drug Tampering Across Three States

Kentucky nurse Jacqueline Brewster is accused of tampering with opioids in Tennessee and West Virginia, possibly contaminating drugs given to hospital patients.