Reducing Preventable Harm in Hospitals

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/reducing-preventable-harm-in-hospitals

David Bornstein

The New York Times

26 January 2016

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Agencies and hospitals working together want methods and protocols with which to guard better against the risks that can harm the patient. The key may be the "Swiss cheese model," by which a hospital must have multiple lines of defense to compensate for each individual system's weaknesses.

Curing Hepatitis C, in an Experiment the Size of Egypt

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/health/hepatitis-c-treatment-egypt.html

Donald G. McNeil Jr.

The New York Times

15 December 2015

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A new approach to distributing pharmaceuticals in Egypt could become the blueprint for providing cutting-edge medicines to the poor. The approach, developed to fight Hep. C, capitalizes on local networks and involves negotiating lower prices with drug companies.

An End to Polio in India?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/an-end-to-polio-in-india

Esha Chhabra

The New York Times

5 March 2014

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India has, for years, been a hotbed of polio. Supported by the WHO as well as local health-care workers, immunizations have officially rid the country of the disease. There are still challenges in maintaining records and reaching everyone, but the message continously changes and adapts.

Better Hand-Washing Through Technology

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/better-hand-washing-through-technology

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

25 April 2011

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Washing hands in between contact with patients is one of the most important things a healthcare worker can do to prevent the spread of disease and reduce the rise of superbugs like MRSA. A new technology is increasing rates of hand washing by displaying, via a sensor in an employee's badge, whether the healthcare provider has washed their hands recently.

Treating the Village to Cure the Disease

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/treating-the-village-to-cure-the-villagers

Jason Silverstein

The New York Times

6 November 2013

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In communities across Africa, health workers are going house to house with medicine to combat lymphatic filariasis, which is the world’s second-largest cause of chronic disability. They are participating in a strategy called mass drug administration, which treats everyone in an area where a disease is found – even if they aren’t sick or infected.

Nigeria's polio endgame and a chance to improve struggling routine vaccination services

http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-medicine/2015/09/03/nigerias-polio-endgame-and-a-chance-to-improve-struggling-routine-vaccination-services

Alexandra Wollum

Nancy Fullman

On Medicine

3 September 2015

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In light of a study published in BMC Medicine, authors Nancy Fullman and Alexandra Wollum take a deeper dive into Nigeria’s gains against polio and what they could mean for the country’s routine vaccine systems.

Lessons From America's Safest Hospitals

http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-04-2013/safe-health-care.html?intcmp=HPBB1F

Beth Howard

AARP Magazine

1 April 2013

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An estimated 6,000 "never events" — egregious errors like operations on the wrong limb or instruments left inside a surgical wound — occur every month among Medicare patients alone. Hospitals across the country are revamping their care programs to stop preventable injuries and deaths.

In India, a Small Pill, With Positive Side Effects

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/in-india-a-small-pill-with-positive-side-effects

Amy Yee

The New York Times

4 April 2012

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In the developing world, intestinal worms stunt physical and mental growth, drain energy, and can inhibit school work for children. Deworm the World is a global campaign that lobbied the Delhi government to regularly distribute deworming pills to school children. The benefits decrease student absenteeism and increase cost-saving measures.

Sharing Patents to Wipe Out AIDS

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/sharing-patents-to-wipe-out-aids

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

21 July 2011

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Once-a-day generic AIDS drugs for poor countries are hard to make because each ingredient is patented by a different pharmaceutical company. The Patent Pool provides a way for companies to donate their intellectual property safely.

How Iran Derailed a Health Crisis

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/how-iran-derailed-a-health-crisis

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

3 December 2010

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Two columns on how Iran is treating its massive epidemic of injecting drug use by tackling it as a health problem, effectively lowering H.I.V. rates among drug users using an approach to drugs known as harm reduction.