PBS Series Examines Efforts To Reform U.S. Health Care System

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PBS Series Examines Efforts To Reform U.S. Health Care System

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53498

PBS on Thursday will begin to air a four-part series called " Remaking

American Medicine: Health Care for the 21st Century, " which examines

efforts to improve the U.S. health care system, including increasing

patient safety, reducing medical errors, and creating partnerships

between providers and their communities. Summaries of the episodes

appear below.

" Silent Killer " : The episode profiles the efforts of Sorrel King, a

patient safety advocate who partnered with s Hopkins to address

safety issues after her 18-month-old daughter died at the hospital as

a result of a medical error.

" First Do No Harm " : The episode focuses on physician efforts at

hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to reduce the frequency of

medical errors.

" The Stealth Epidemic " : The episode examines efforts to improve the

treatment of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and congestive heart

failure, in Los Angeles and Whatcom County, Wash., through improved

physician-patient relationships.

" Hand in Hand " : The episode profiles patients, families and providers

who created a partnership at the Medical College of Georgia Health

System in Augusta, Ga., to increase patient involvement in care

delivery as medicine becomes more complex and technologically

sophisticated.

The program's companion Web site includes biographies and profiles of

people featured on or related to the program, information about

patient- and family-centered care and links to related resources (PBS

release, 10/5). Check local PBS listings for show times.

A video preview of the series is available online in RealPlayer.

In addition, a webcast of a symposium on the series is available

online at kaisernetwork.org.

Related Coverage - Several newspapers recently included features on

local individuals, health care programs and special broadcast

programming related to " Remaking American Medicine. " Summaries appear

below:

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Children's Hospital and Clinics of

Minnesota implemented a delivery system based on s Hopkins'

program that empowers all employees with patient contact " to speak up

if they see something not quite right about the patients' recovery "

in an effort to prevent medical errors, the Star Tribune reports

(Francis, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 10/3).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-

Shadyside and Children's Hospital developed a program called

Condition Help, which allows patients or family members to summon

care providers other than the ones assigned to them, the Post-Gazette

reports. The hospitals' efforts are profiled on PBS. In addition, the

PBS special also profiles Hackney, a Pittsburgh resident who

died from a hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus

aureus infection, and O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury secretary

and founder of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (Pittsburgh

Post-Gazette, 10/4).

Richmond Times-Dispatch: WCVE's " Virginia Currents " will air two

live, local call-in programs, titled " Remaking Virginia Medicine: A

Virginia Currents Special, " immediately after " Remaking American

Medicine " on Oct. 12 and Oct. 19 (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9/29).