In The Race For ‘Fanciest Hospital In Town,’ Patient Safety Loses Out
October 24, 2013by Ashish Jha Hospital, or Hilton? Ashish Jha says too often patient safety takes a backseat to marketing efforts. In this photo, the main atrium of the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is seen in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009. The $360 million, 300-bed hospital features a bevy of perks for patients, including private bedrooms with wireless Internet access and feng shui designs; tasty cuisine cooked up by a high-profile local chef and a main street of small specialty retail shops. (Carlos Osorio/AP)
Did you hear about the hospital that spent $100 million to eliminate medical errors? Or the large healthcare system that guaranteed patient safety, fully compensating any patient who was harmed? You might have missed these stories because, as far as I know, they didn’t happen. But as hypothetical scenarios they make an interesting contrast to two recent real news stories. Read more