Tag: health law policy

Advancing the Global Patient Safety Agenda

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By John Tingle and Jen Minford

All too often it seems that patient safety and health quality policy makers work in their own silos unaware of what is taking place in other countries, wasting valuable resources by trying to re-invent the wheel. There is a clear need to have a way of cascading the news down on what is happening in patient safety globally. Developing and transitioning countries do not always have the resources to build up patient safety infrastructures, tools and policies and letting them know about initiatives going on in other countries fulfils a very important global public health need.

There is also the concept of ‘reverse innovation’.  Developed countries’ patient safety practices and policies can be informed by the experiences of developing and transitioning countries who may be using them in a different and novel way. Patient safety learning can be a two-way street. Read More

Housing Equity Week in Review

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Lots of news from the past week in housing equity and law. Check out the latest in the field from the week of April 10-17, 2017:

  • In his first television interview as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson talked about the rich’s obligation to help the poor and the importance of private sector involvement in planning of housing policy. Coverage from NY Times.
  • Ben Carson’s listening tour arrived in Miami, where he then got stuck in an elevator at a public housing complex. Some advocates hope that this will be a live example of the need for more funds to maintain these facilities, via CBSNews.com
  • Chronic nuisance ordinances continue to be a driver for eviction, but do they have a disparate impact against victims of domestic abuse? Via the NY Times.
  • Baltimore is taking a new approach to neighborhood revitalization. Can it be done without gentrification? Via the Nation.
  • The Atlantic’s CityLab published a New Urban Crisis Index map!

Housing Equity Week in Review

Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research 1 Comment

The HUD budget was the big story the last week of March in housing law and equity. Here’s the week in review for March 27-April 2:

  • The largest story in housing is still the looming HUD budget cuts. The New York Times ran a story of a couple in Ohio, living well below the poverty line, who used the HOME Investment Partnership Program to renovate their home to make it habitable. The next year they voted for Trump. Now, Trump’s proposed budget is considering eliminating the HOME Program.
  • Secretary Ben Carson is currently on his listening tour. The first stop of the tour was Carson’s home town, Detroit (story via the Detroit Free Press). None of the Assistant Secretary positions have been filled so far.
  • Seattle’s stable, livable but expensive, housing market is undergoing a crisis and a dramatic spike in homelessness. The mayor started challenging the powers that be, seeking more input from renters and low income residents and not exclusively from affluent homeowners. Would this shakeup of traditional power lead to solutions to the crisis? Story via NextCity.

The National Health Service (NHS) in England is standing on a burning platform?

John Tingle

By John Tingle

In the introduction to a new report on the state of acute hospitals in the NHS in England, the Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) controversially states:

“The NHS stands on a burning platform — the model of acute care that worked well when the NHS was established is no longer capable of delivering the care that today’s population needs. The need for change is clear, but finding the resources and energy to deliver change while simultaneously providing safe patient care can seem near impossible.” (p.4)

This statement raises the fundamental question of whether the current model of the NHS is,’ fit for purpose’? The NHS since its formation has always had both a good and bad press. Since its inception it always been short of resources. Changing times bring with them new demands which can make established health care delivery structures obsolete and no longer capable of delivering optimal performance. One important NHS developing health care trend is the need to keep pace with a growing elderly population with more complex health needs along with other trends. Read More

Undocumented Organ Transplants

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By Brad Segal

Manuel—not his real name—was admitted to the hospital with decompensated heart failure. As a child he had scarlet fever which, left untreated, had caused the valves of his heart to calcify and stiffen. Over time, pumping against increased resistance, his heart’s contractions began to weaken until finally, they lost all synchrony and the normal function of his heart spiraled out of control. At this stage, his fate was tied to whether or not he would receive a new heart in time.

He was in his 30’s and had no other illnesses. From a medical perspective, Manuel was the ideal candidate for a cardiac transplant. But a decade ago Manuel crossed the United States border in pursuit of a better life. As an undocumented immigrant, he was ineligible for the insurance coverage necessary to pay for a heart transplant. After being thoroughly evaluated by the hospital’s transplant center, given his modest financial resources and inability to obtain new insurance coverage, Manuel was not placed on the waiting list for a new heart.

The average heart transplant costs about a million dollars to perform. Subsequent follow-up care adds another $30,000 annually. Health insurance will usually cover most, if not all, of these costs. But uninsured patients are kept off transplant lists on the grounds that the inability to pay for care allegedly jeopardizes an organ’s long-term success. Read More

NHS patient care and treatment errors: developing a learning culture.

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By John Tingle

PACAC, the House of Commons, (Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee) has just published its analysis of the PHSO’s, (Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman ) second report into the tragic death of Sam Morrish, a three year old child whose death from sepsis was found to have been avoidable. PACAC  is composed of MP’s (Members of Parliament) and its remit includes considering matters relating to the quality and standards of administration provided by civil service departments which includes the Department of Health. PACAC also examines the reports of the PHSO.

The PACAC report is very thorough and detailed and really gets to grips with the issues surrounding NHS (National Health Service) health adverse incident investigation. It addresses very clearly the current challenges and opportunities in this area and puts forward some major concerns which need to be fully addressed by the NHS before it can be said to have a listening and learning culture. It is clear from reading the report that the NHS has a very long way to go before it can be said to be even close to reaching its listening and learning culture attainment goal.

The PACAC report also identifies what could be regarded as some muddled thinking by the Department of Health on the concept of the ‘safe space’ in NHS investigations and identifies some important patient safety policy gaps.

Read More

The High Cost of Clinical Negligence Claims

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By John Tingle

In the UK, the Department of Health (DH) have just published a consultation paper on introducing fixed recoverable costs in lower value clinical negligence claims. The document contains some controversial proposals which many claimant, patient lawyers are very concerned about. They feel the proposals will make it much harder for patients with lower value claims to find a solicitor to fight their case .The publication of the consultation paper comes in the wake of criticism that some clinical negligence claimant lawyers, solicitor firms , make excessive and unreasonable costs demands. The NHS LA (The National Health Service Litigation Authority) which manages negligence and other claims against the NHS in England states:

“Claimant costs for lower value claims are disproportionate and excessive. For claims where compensation is less than £10,000, claimant lawyers recover almost three times more in costs on average.”(p.10)

The DH Consultation Paper begins by stating the annual cost of clinical negligence in the NHS. It has risen from £1.2bn in 2014/15 to £1.5bn in 2015/2016.Legal costs were 34% of the 2015/16 expenditure.The consultation paper states that the current system of claims resolution is often lengthy and adversarial. This creates what can be termed a dual problem. Delaying possible learning of lessons from incidents and also escalating the costs of litigation when claims are brought. Read More

Housing Equity Week in Review

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Last week, January 23-29, 2017, saw a mix of national and local-level housing news. Here’s our round-up for the past week:

  • Surprising some on the “Warren-wing” of the Democratic Party, Elizabeth Warren came out in support of Dr. Ben Carson as the 17th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In the confirmation hearing, Warren asked Carson if he can promise that no taxpayer dollar will go from HUD to developments’ of Donald Trump, then pointing out that it was a trick question since there was no financial disclosure,  no one knows exactly what how or what President Trump benefits from financially. However, due to promises to abate lead in housing and to protect from LGBTQ discrimination in housing markets, Warren decided not to stand in Carson’s way. Coverage via The Hill.
  • President Trump’s pick for Secretary Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, lied during his confirmation hearing about foreclosure practices of One West Bank while he was the chairmen and CEO, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
  • As the population ages, housing needs change. Are we keeping up with the new demand? New York Times opinion piece on the housing needs of the elderly.
  • Bay Area housing prices are going down due to building boom, via the Business Journal.
  • The National Low Income Housing Coalition released a statement in opposition of the Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017.

Did we miss anything? Let us know!

Housing Equity Week in Review

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Here’s the latest in housing equity and law for the week of January 16-22, 2017:

Did we miss anything? Let us know.

Housing Equity Week in Review

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We’ve rounded up the latest news from the past week, January 9-15, 2017, for housing law and equity. The HUD confirmation hearing was, of course, the biggest news, but a few other items of note:

Did we miss anything? Let us know!