Chad Terhune
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Another Scope, Similar Infection Worries
Long before the recent superbug outbreaks, Olympus Corp. drew national attention for a faulty device tied to patient infections. In 2001, the Japanese company recalled thousands of bronchoscopes from U.S. hospitals after reports of contamination and patient infections. The episode — and the company's response to it — mirrors its current troubles with gastrointestinal scopes. Bacteria were trapped unexpectedly inside a loose biopsy port on the bronchoscope, and potentially dangerous bugs could be passed to the next patient. More recently, a similar pattern emerged with duodenoscopes harboring life-threatening superbugs even though hospitals followed Olympus' cleaning instructions, federal regulators said...
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As Hospital Chains Grow, So Do Their Prices For Care
As health care consolidation accelerates nationwide, a new study shows that hospital prices in two of California’s largest health systems were 25 percent higher than at other hospitals around the state. Researchers said this gap of nearly $4,000 per patient admission was not due to regional wage differences or hospitals treating sicker patients. Rather, they said California’s two biggest hospital chains, Dignity Health and Sutter Health, had used their market power to win higher rates...
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