The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 30% of medication on the market in developing countries in Africa are counterfeit and have found that nearly 50% of the drugs sold in Angola, Burundi, and the Congo are of poor quality. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of anti-malaria drugs in Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam contain insufficient active ingredients.

A 2003 Interpol survey on the quality of drugs available in Lagos, sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous city concluded that 80% of the drugs available were fakes. In 2008, more than 80 children in Nigeria died after being given medicine that looked, smelled, and tasted like the real thing, but was laced with antifreeze.

Why are the numbers so high? Jacqueline Sawyer, Liaison Officer at WHO’s Prequalification of Medicines Programme, told MediaGlobal “The problem of counterfeit medicines is more prevalent in countries where medicine regulation is ineffective, smuggling of medicines is rampant, secret manufacturing exists, sanctions are absent or very weak, and there is high corruption.”

Do not think counterfeit or tampered drugs only exist in developing countries. An estimated 1% of all medicines dispensed in developed countries are counterfeit. Medicines containing boric acid and other lethal substances have been found recently in certain medications.

To be sure that your drug is safe to use, check the FDA’s website. They announce drugs that might have been tampered with and also have correct packaging and dosage information.
Recent FDA Headlines:
FDA Warns About Fraudulent Tamiflu
Warning: Counterfeit Alli
FDA Issues Warning on Counterfeit Surgical Mesh

Full article here.
FDA here.

In a recent RAND report “Is Better Patient Safety Associated with Less Malpractice Activity? Evidence from California” it was found that there is a correlation between the frequency of adverse events and malpractice claims. “On average, a county that shows a decrease of 10 adverse events in a given year would also see a decrease of 3.7 malpractice claims.” What this is telling us is that there is a link between patient safety and malpractice claims. While that might not necessarily be news to some, it does put some light on the “frivolous” lawsuits. If hospitals were to concentrate on patient safety and patient education the malpractice lawsuits will (according to this report) most likely decrease.

Another article by the Wall Street Journal titled “New Focus on Averting Errors: Hospital Culture” highlights the fact that errors made by healthcare professionals cause 44,000 to 98,000 deaths per year. To combat this number hospitals are taking a surprising approach: “Not only are they trying to improve safety and reduce malpractice claims, they’re also coming up with procedures for handling – and even consoling – staffers who make inadvertent mistakes.” Hospitals are taking a proactive approach to patient safety and staffer guidance instead of waiting for a bad event to occur and then reacting.

And now just a little information regarding Personal Health Records (PHRs) and their useful for patient safety. Having a PHR can certainly save you time and help with all the cumbersome paperwork, but having one can also save your life. Patient data is lost/mixed up etc. daily and having your own record of your health will help keep you safe. The state of California has the largest PHR adoption rate. Here is a look at the numbers:
1. 7% of adults had used a Personal Health Record (PHR)
2. California leads the nation in PHR use, at 15%
3. 58% of PHR users with two or more chronic conditions say they know more about their health care as a result, compared to 44% of those with only one or no chronic conditions
4. 48% of caregivers are interested in using a PHR for the person they care for
5. 75% worry about the privacy of PHR information
6. 40% of those who do not have a PHR express interest in using one

The doctors and several other interns tried to induce labor because the woman described only as “Patient A” came to the hospital claiming to be pregnant. Only after performing a Cesarean section did the doctors realize that the uterus was empty and the woman was in fact not pregnant.

The doctors later determined that the woman was suffering from pseudocyesis – also known as false pregnancy.

The two doctors in question were issued letters of concern but other doctors commenting on this story thought the punishment should be a little harsher. According to the article, “In this day and age, how can something like this happen? We have sonograms readily available to confirm whether or not someone is pregnant.”

An ultrasound was preformed by a resident (not the doctors in question), however, but it showed no heartbeat and “Patient A” insisted that she needed to be induced for fear of her baby.

The two doctors in question never actually examined the patient before they approved the C-section.

This is where we need to practice intelligent medicine and take the time to examine a patient. Doctors and nurses are extremely busy – especially in a hospital setting, but one simple examination would have shown that the woman was not actually pregnant and a major surgery (C-section) would not have been preformed.

Read full article here.

Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

A scary night in the ER

“I have been watching my friend for the last 24 hours. First in the ER being monitored by a machine for his heart, oxygen and blood pressure – the alarm is turned off so it doesn’t make any noise – followed by a 6 hour wait for EMERGENCY surgery – hoping that he gets in the cue prior to the onset of internal rupture. I watched patient transport almost pull him out of the room without disconnecting the tubes from the wall – a frustrating reminder that the focus on reform is not about health.

After surgery I was watching him recover and yet again the $200 monitor has the alarm turned off. I thought to myself, ‘I wonder what would happen is there was no one in the room and he couldn’t call out for help?’

My friend received a 2mg narcotic through his IV around 6:00 pm. At 8:00 pm the nurse came back to evaluate for another .5mg of the narcotic. I watched his nurse place the injection on the table, take and enter vital signs into the bedside PC and while I was looking at my notes, the nurse left the room. I asked my friend, “Did the nurse give you anything?” He didn’t know. I looked for injection marks on his right arm – nothing. I walked out and asked the nurse, “Did you give him the injection?” The nurse’s response, “You were in the room the whole time, did you not see me give it to him?”

I took a step back – I am tired and need to turn off my fraud, waste and abuse examiner’s hat. However, I wonder on these points…

1. I believe the nurse stole the narcotic and did not give it to the patient. The next day the floor nurse let me look at the medical record. The patient received the narcotic at 8:00 pm IVP – which means the nurse would have had to ask me to move since I was sitting next to the arm with the IV.

2. The on call surgeon had to wait until the on call surgical staff finished operating on the patient’s rupture appendicitis. He was ready for surgery at 10:00 pm but could not get in until 1:00 am. So what would have happened if the bowel obstruction ruptured any time before 1:00 am? Would he have died in the ER? Been transferred to another hospital?

3. What would have happened on the snowy icy night if an auto accident had been admitted? Would he have been bumped? Did the hospital put their ER in bypass mode?

4. Now what about the ER nurse, did he take the narcotic himself? Was he feeling a little ‘happy’?

Some of the unreported errors include: A patient being attacked by another patient’s visitor, an 8-day delay on IV medication for a man known to have heart failure, and a case where an antibiotic was mistakenly given to a patient after a technician thought it was plain IV fluid.

Read full article here.

This should be a warning to patients and healthcare providers. Hospitals should be required to report serious medical errors because patients have the right to know what sort of medical care they will receive at any given hospital. Medical Business Associates, Inc. recommends that patients take charge of their own healthcare and well being by developing and maintaining a Personal Healthcare Portfolio.