Category: Patient Experience

Viewpoint: Send in the clowns to help patients — and physicians

Bedside manner advice for physicians is coming from an unlikely source: hospital clowns. New research from Tel Aviv University in Israel and the Ramat Gan-based Israel Center for Medical Simulation identified 40 skills medical clowns use to bring joy t…

Weight loss drugs can lead to loss of muscle mass

Drugs prescribed for weight loss including Wegovy and Ozempic could lead to loss of muscle mass, CBS News reported May 3.

Vermont drops residency rule for medically assisted death

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill May 2 allowing adults who do not live in the state to access life-ending care.

Essentia Health's patient experience upgrades at replacement hospital

Essentia Health is leaning into technology to enhance the patient experience at the upgraded St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minn. 

Physician accuses AHRQ of 'deeply flawed analysis' in patient safety research

Matt Bivens, MD, the EMS medical director at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, Mass., and a Harvard Medical Faculty-associated physician, criticized an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study on emergency department errors and accused the ag…

TikTok 'Flamethrower Challenge' sends boy to hospital

A 16-year-old boy in North Carolina has burns covering most of his body and is expected to stay in a hospital’s burn unit for six months after partaking in the “Flamethrower Challenge” on TikTok, according to Fox News and NBC affiliate WRAL News. 

How Massachusetts General is improving stroke patients' outcomes

A newly developed unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston was created out of a need to treat patients following a serious neurological event like a stroke even more quickly, according to a May 1 press release.

7 dead in Virginia Mason's ongoing bacterial outbreak

Three more patients who contracted Klebsiella pneumoniae at Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center have died, bringing the total to seven patient deaths, the hospital said in an April 28 update.

American College of Physicians: Time to elevate gun safety conversations with patients

Amid rapidly increasing gun violence across the U.S., the American College of Physicians issued a statement saying it is time for physicians to prioritize having conversations about gun violence and safety with patients.

Inova Health promotes 3 dogs to 'chief comfort officers'

Three dogs have been promoted to chief comfort officers at Inova Loudoun (Va.) Hospital, ABC affiliate WJLA reported April 27.