Paul Alexander, a Texas man who contracted polio at age 6, which led him to spend the last 72 years in an iron lung for survival, has died, his brother and friends announced March 12 on a GoFundMe page set up to aid with expenses.

Only 4% of 346 surveyed hospitals fully met recommended discharge practices for patients identified as at risk for suicide, according to a study conducted by The Joint Commission. 

People who live in areas where primary care provider shortages are more severe are at higher risk of requiring emergency surgery, according to new findings from a study led by researchers at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. 

In two months, 18 employees of Little Rock-based Arkansas Children's Hospital reported injuries following workplace violence incidents, five of which required medical care, the Arkansas Business reported March 11.

New York City-based NYU Langone Health tested artificial intelligence to see how well it can convert physician notes into accurate lay language that improved patient understanding.

Around 40% of the U.S. adults experience obesity and 50% of patients in need of bariatric surgery will elect to forgo it. Some do so if they do not trust their physician, research from Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center found.

A man in the U.S. developed a parasitic infection in his brain after regularly consuming undercooked bacon, according to a case study published March 7 in the American Journal of Case Reports.

Healthgrades recognized 832 hospitals with its 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Award and 2024 Outstanding Patient Experience Award.

Healthgrades recognized 832 hospitals with its 2024 Patient Safety Excellence Awards and Outstanding Patient Experience Award. Only 79 of those hospitals received both awards. 

U.S. representatives have reintroduced bipartisan legislation to establish a National Patient Safety Board, a team that would be housed within HHS and dedicated to preventing medical errors.

While employment for new clinicians was positive in the last year with 96% of new nurses finding work, the issue is transitioning those clinicians from education into bedside and hospital practice, which is the most pressing safety challenge of 2024, according to the ECRI's annual report on patient safety.

The updated COVID-19 shots that rolled out in fall 2023 reduced the risk of severe infection by 31% in adults over 65 and immunocompromised individuals, according to data published March 4 by Cleveland Clinic researchers in Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Four children born with HIV remained free of detectable levels of the virus for at least a year after pausing antiretroviral therapy in a clinical trial backed by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers say the findings are a promising sign for future HIV remission science. 

A man is in custody after he allegedly attacked and killed another patient at Merit Health Central in Jackson, Miss. The incident occurred March 5 and is under investigation, police told local news outlets. 

Research has emerged from experts at Children's Hospital Los Angeles revealing gaps in preventative care for children with sickle cell anemia, according to a March 6 news release.

Higher rates of medical debt are associated with poor physical and mental health, and premature death, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society. 

An investigation at Carilion Roanoke (Va.) Memorial Hospital revealed sterilization issues with surgical equipment that reportedly occurred between March and September 2023, Cardinal News reported March 4.

California is considering a bill that would allow people with severe mental illness who commit violent crimes to be held in a state mental hospital for up to 30 days instead of only five, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Mar. 4.

On March 3, an ambulance en route to a University of Kentucky hospital struck a guardrail and flipped over. The patient being transported died, and two EMTs were injured, police told local news outlets. 

NYC Health + Hospitals' lifestyle medicine program has expanded to a fifth hospital, the New York City-based system said March 1.