A federal patient safety coordinator should be appointed to advise the president on ways to improve safety at hospitals nationwide — that's one of the initiatives the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended in a Sept. 7 report. 

Physicians prescribe more unnecessary antibiotics during colder months than warmer seasons, according to a study published Sept. 5 in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology. 

Police in Washington, D.C., are searching for a man charged with murder who escaped custody at George Washington University Hospital, according to The Washington Post.

The victim in a possible murder-suicide at a Mississippi hospital has died, NBC affiliate WLBT reported Sept. 6.

While 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is often cited as the standard for normal body temperature, adults' average body temperature may be closer to 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a study published Sept. 5 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A patient at Oregon State Hospital in Salem, who was awaiting felony charges and escaped his restraints, was apprehended Sept. 1, NBC affiliate KGW reported. 

Police are investigating a possible murder-suicide attempt at Jackson, Miss.-based Baptist Memorial Hospital that left one person dead and another critically injured, ABC affiliate WAPT reported Sep. 5.

Plastic surgeons and cosmetic dermatologists are reporting an uptick in patients requesting "Barbie Botox" or "trap tox" — a cosmetic procedure that has gained traction on social media this summer, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 29.

Fourteen home-health agencies have been cited for violations, including four agencies run by the county health departments, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Sept. 4.

Bangor-based Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical is refuting patient safety claims made by a 15-year-old and his mother, once a physician at the facility, and has put the mother on notice for defamation.

A 57-year-old woman died Aug. 16 in a stairwell at New York City-based Montefiore's Family Health Center and wasn't found until Aug. 21 after someone reported a "foul odor," according to a Politico report. 

Twenty percent of women reported experiencing mistreatment during pregnancy and delivery care, a new CDC report found.

Bedside meetings with a patient's full care team are necessary for continuity of care, safety and outcomes. Though these meetings usually take place in person, evidence shows that virtual multidisciplinary rounds can reduce a patient's length of stay by up to 60 percent, according to new research published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

A post-discharge risk for older adults with COVID-19 infections has been identified in a new study from Harvard Medical School, according to an Aug. 17 news release.

Every passing minute matters for patients in need of emergency blood transfusions and now Maryland's first responders in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore will carry whole blood on board for air-lifted patients, according to an Aug. 22 news release. 

A 70-year-old man died Aug. 15 after exiting a moving ambulance on a Florida interstate, according to local authorities.

Increasing adverse events, hospital-associated infections, and other harm to patients have compounded and now fuel the call for the formation of a national patient safety board. But, with so many established health entities already within the government, will adding one create more complexities than it will oversight?

UChicago Medicine is boosting police and security worker presence in the emergency department after several employees were injured amid a fight that broke out Aug. 13, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Two people have contracted tuberculosis and died following an outbreak related to contaminated human bone tissue products used in hospitals, surgical centers and dental clinics, according to the CDC. 

The scramble to find kidneys for transplants or the long waits on a list amid a usable organ shortage could come to an end in the future. The use of gene-edited pig kidneys could vastly increase supply and help meet life-saving demand for patients, Robert Montgomery, MD, PhD, the director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute explained during an Aug. 16 press conference.