Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.
1. UPMC probes link between mold, patient deaths
In the last two weeks, UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh shut down its cardiothoracic intensive care unit after a patient developed a fungal infection and investigators found mold in the area. At that time, the hospital noted one patient had a fungal infection in an external wound. Investigators found mold behind a wall of one room in the ICU and also in toilets of other rooms in the ICU. After reviewing patient records as part of the mold investigation, hospital staff discovered two previous transplant patients who had stayed in that ICU room had fungal infections, possibly linked to the mold, and died.
2. 20 states with the largest drop in uninsured rates
New health insurance data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the uninsured rate dropped in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The numbers, based on data from calendar years 2013 and 2014, show the states that chose to expand Medicaid and/or run their own health insurance marketplace saw the greatest decrease in the number of uninsured. To view a table with the decreases of the 20 states with the largest drop in uninsured rates, click here.
3. Why North Shore-LIJ is changing its name after 18 years
Eighteen years after it was formed through the merger of North Shore Health System and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Great Neck, N.Y.-based North Shore-LIJ Health System has a new name — Northwell Health. The system's board of trustees approved the name change after recognizing the need for a more consumer-friendly name and one that didn't confine the system geographically.
4. 15 indicted in $150M healthcare fraud scheme that allegedly involved a PA performing surgeries
A physician, his attorney and more than a dozen others have been indicted for their roles in one of the largest insurance fraud scams in California history, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Munir Uwaydah, MD, is accused of being involved in a vast conspiracy that involved attorneys and others illegally referring patients to his clinics in exchange for up to $10,000 a month. Prosecutors also alleged a physician assistant, who had never attended medical school, performed operations on patients who were told a board-certified orthopedic surgeon would conduct their procedures.
5. Sutter Health notifies 2,500 of breach after employee improperly emails billing documents
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is notifying patients of a potential data breach after a former employee emailed electronic versions of billing documents to a personal account without authorization. The incident compromised the information of 2,582 patients. Affected electronic information includes patient names, birth dates, insurance identification number, date of service and billing code. One patient's driver's license number was compromised, and one patient's Social Security number and driver's license number were compromised.
6. CMS fines Cleveland Clinic hospital for lab deficiencies
A CMS inspection of Cleveland Clinic's Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights, Ohio, found six serious violations of procedures that rose to the level of immediate jeopardy for a period of time, according to a newsnet5 report. The deficiencies were in the areas of handling and testing blood samples and staff competency assessment requirements. Since that time, three of the violations have been fully addressed. As of Sept. 3, CMS took the hospital out of immediate jeopardy.
7. Venice Regional Bayfront suffers another sewage leak
Patients were evacuated from the intensive care unit at Venice (Fla.) Regional Bayfront Health after a toilet overflowed in the ICU, according to a Herald-Tribune report. Staff acted quickly in cleaning up the water, removing wet baseboards and drywall and disinfecting the rooms using ultraviolet light to prevent infection, according to the Herald-Tribune. They also walled off part of the unit so as to not disturb patients with the noise.
8. Plague case confirmed in Michigan
A Michigan resident is recovering from bubonic plague after taking a trip to Colorado, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported. This is Michigan's first plague diagnosis ever and the 14th case of plague in the U.S. this year. According to the CDC, the number of plague cases in the U.S. each year from 2001 to 2012 has ranged from one to 17, with three as the median number of cases. In August, the CDC said it is "unclear why the number of cases in 2015 is higher than usual."