California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Quest Diagnostics following allegations of illegal disposal of PHI and hazardous waste. In the realm of healthcare, patient privacy and data security are paramount. Recently, Quest Diagnostics, a leading provider of diagnostic testing services, found itself embroiled in allegations regarding the improper disposal of protected health information (PHI). This breach of patient trust and regulatory compliance has resulted in a significant settlement of $5 million, highlighting […]
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The Nationwide Push to Address Violence Against Healthcare Workers: 4 Updates
Amid violence against healthcare workers, hospitals, health systems and states across the U.S. are working to address the issue. These efforts range from appointing “workplace violence coordinators” to holding a gun violence prevention forum. Here are four recent updates: State University of New York Upstate Medical University selected two “workplace violence coordinators” to address violence against healthcare workers. The Syracuse, N.Y.-based organization named Frank Ferrante and Gerald Santoferrara to the new roles on its risk […]
Read MoreHealth care has a massive carbon footprint. These doctors are trying to change that.
Inside an operating room at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Noe Woods stands in her blue scrubs next to a black operating table. Woods, an Ob-Gyn, knows this room well. “I’ve operated in this room many times over the last 14 years. I’ve probably taken out uteruses, polyps, ovaries, ectopic pregnancies,” Woods said. Operating rooms are central to what hospitals do, but they’re also at the root of a problem Woods and others at the […]
Read MoreQuality Transformation: How Hospitals are Striking a Balance Between the Bottom Line & Better Care
Patient safety events, especially preventable ones, are on the rise at healthcare organizations. Meanwhile, frontline staff are burned out, and the current fiscal environment is exerting pressure on margins. Amid these interrelated challenges, it is difficult for health system leaders to manage competing priorities. Though many hospitals and health systems try to reduce expenses by cutting supply costs, the greatest opportunity for transformation is quality improvement. Becker’s Hospital Review recently spoke with two Vizient experts […]
Read MoreAnticipating 2024: Healthcare Executives’ Budget & Strategy Plans
Becker’s asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their organization’s areas of growth for the next few years. The 49 executives featured in this article are all speaking at the Becker’s Healthcare 11th Annual CEO+CFO Roundtable on Nov. 13-16, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. To learn more about this event, click here. If you would like to join as a speaker or a reviewer, contact Mariah Muhammad […]
Read MoreSounding the Alarm About Disposable Plastic in Health Care
Yale’s Jodi Sherman says the health care industry must balance public health and planetary health when considering the use of disposable plastic items. To Jodi Sherman’s way of thinking, the Hippocratic Oath’s vow of doing no harm includes doing no harm to the planet — particularly when it comes to the sea of single-use plastic flooding the health care industry. Sherman, an associate professor of anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine and of epidemiology in environmental […]
Read MoreCurtis Bay Energy Pleads Guilty to Improper Handling of Special Medical Waste
Curtis Bay Energy, the owner and operator of a medical waste incinerator facility in Baltimore, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the insufficient treatment and improper handling of special medical waste and the operation and concealment of an unpermitted discharge outlet. This sentence marks one of the largest penalties for an environmental criminal case administered by the Maryland attorney general’s office. Curtis Bay Energy has been placed on a 2-year probation and ordered to […]
Read MoreBecton Dickinson, Casella Complete Pilot Recycling Used Medical Devices
This content was written and submitted by the supplier. It has only been modified to comply with this publication’s space and style. Becton Dickinson and Casella Waste Systems have announced the most recent results of a recycling pilot to manage discarded syringes and needles that led to 40,000 lb of medical waste being recycled and diverted from disposal. The circular economy pilot, which took place in the first half of 2023, was the first large-scale […]
Read MoreJohns Hopkins Professor Speaks on Cutting Healthcare Waste, Highlights New Partnership with Liberty School of Health Sciences
Liberty University School of Health Sciences welcomed Johns Hopkins University Professor of Surgery Dr. Marty Makary to campus on Sept. 14 to share on prevalent issues within the healthcare industry, such as the extreme costs of healthcare and insurance and the importance of challenging current scientific misconceptions. Makary serves as the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery for Johns Hopkins. He is a leading healthcare expert, a Fox News contributor, and a New York Times bestselling […]
Read MoreKaiser Settles for $47 Million Over Dumping Medical Waste
On Sept. 8, with six district attorneys, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals resolving allegations that the healthcare provider unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste, medical waste, and protected health information at Kaiser facilities statewide. As part of the settlement, Kaiser will be liable to pay up to $49 million and required to take steps to prevent future unlawful disposals. Kaiser: Will pay $47.250 […]
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