Vaccine refusal raises fears of disease outbreaks in the medical community

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of measles cases more than tripled in 2014. From just under 200 in 2013, there were 603 reported cases and 20 outbreaks in the first 11 months of 2014. And the majority of the people who contracted measles were not vaccinated.


While the rate of vaccination remains high in the United States, a new and troubling trend -- vaccine refusal -- is raising fears in the medical community. Vaccine-preventable diseases are popping up all over the country. In June 2014, California was declared a hotbed for whooping cough, with more than 10,000 reported cases. Reports call the California epidemic the worst in 55 years, with the disease spreading to other states. Public health officials maintain that vaccine refusal played a role in the epidemic. California is one of the states that allow parents to refuse vaccines for philosophical reasons. 


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Parents are refusing to get their children immunized for a variety of reasons. Some parents are afraid of the much-disproved link between autism and the MMR vaccine, while some believe that the toxins in vaccines cause harm to the body. 


The pediatric community is responding to this trend by stepping up its efforts at parent education. Numerous medical organizations and journals such as the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC,) the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the World Health Organization (WHO) have made available through their websites various resources to assist medical professionals in vaccine education and parent counselling. 


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Misinformation on vaccine safety and efficacy abounds on the Internet. While there is no way to prevent unfounded rumors from spreading in today's age of lightning-fast communication, physicians can do their part to ensure the safety of the majority through meaningful patient education. 


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CDC reacts to Dallas Ebola case, updates its healthcare worker guidelines

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released stricter guidelines in the treatment and management of Ebola-infected patients.

The change comes in the wake of the events at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, in which several nurses stated having been sent to care for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., unprepared and under-protected. Two nurses were infected, and the CDC cleared an infected nurse for air travel.

In an October 15 interview with Forbes Magazine, a public relations staff member at the CDC stated that the Dallas incident led them to update their personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations and monitoring instructions.

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The new guidelines were released on October 22 and focus on tightening infection control through improved PPE, rigorous training on infection control, and improved supervision through trained monitors who will observe healthcare workers as they put on their PPE, in order to rectify lapses in protocol as soon as they occur.

The CDC has updated its PPE recommendations with the addition of two pairs of protective gloves, fluid-resistant gowns, pants, hoods, shoe coverings, and waterproof aprons; as well as replacement of the previously recommended goggles with disposable full-face shields.

The U.S. Government has also made certain changes to prevent the further spread of Ebola. Despite the repeated demands of the Congress and the American public to ban travel from Ebola-ravaged West Africa, the government has instead required travelers coming from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia to enter through one of five designated U.S. airports equipped for Ebola screening.

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Dr. George Northrop of Danbury is a licensed physician and healthcare executive. For more health news and updates, subscribe to this blog.

Hospital management seeking ways to protect patient records from cyber threats

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An article published recently in The Boston Globe discussed the medical community’s growing concern regarding data breach from cyber attackers. This comes on the tail of the latest news of 4.5 million patient records from Community Health Systems (CHS) allegedly stolen by Chinese hackers. If proven true, this would be the largest breach of patient data to date. Supposedly, the hackers did not gain access to specific medical information, such as treatment procedures and types of illnesses. Nevertheless, personal information, such as names, addresses, birthdates, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers were accessed. CHS is treating this case as an HIPAA violation.

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Criminals can use the stolen records to file fake insurance claims, get medical prescriptions, or sell Social Security numbers. What’s more, cyber hackers have developed sophisticated systems that bypass traditional security fail-safes. Most businesses have developed strategies to protect themselves from cyber threats, but the health industry has been lagging behind in terms of data security. This, perhaps, can be attributed to the general belief that certain areas are still held sacred by individuals or the fact that most hospitals are more concerned with delivering health care and not operational security. The growing number of theft and breaches nevertheless speak a different story.

To address this, management and administrative staff of health facilities are coming together to create better techniques to protect their records. Criminal intrusions mean not only a financial loss but represent the potential risk of misdiagnosis due to incorrect medical records. Health regulators urge staff members to make these improved procedures higher in their priority list. In the meantime, individuals are recommended to take extra measures to protect their own information and store a separate file of all their medical records.

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Dr. George Northrop, formerly of Danbury Hospital, is the current chief medical officer of the Sheik Khalifa General Hospital in Abu Dhabi. He has decades of experience in hospital management and administration. Like this Facebook page for more news and updates on the medical industry.

Medical malpractice cases: Knowing when to file

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Medical malpractice is when a doctor, healthcare professional, or medical facility causes harm to a patient through gross negligence or omission of pertinent information. Acts that directly result in a misdiagnosis or errors in treatment, aftercare, or management can be labeled as medical malpractice and should be forwarded to a legal firm for proper representation. Nevertheless, it is important to know basic characteristics of a malpractice casebefore proceeding with any legal action. These are as follows:

Violating standard of care. While this may vary from state to state, federal law states that there are certain medical standards that all professionals in this industry must follow. Patients have the right to the best possible care available in the area.

Negligence caused an injury. Patients must prove that they sustained an injury because of the direct actions of a health provider. It is not enough that a doctor or health facility provided an unfavorable outcome.

The injuries resulted in significant damages. Medical malpractice cases are typically very expensive. This is because they require several witnesses to come forward and discuss the actions of the specific doctor or health facility. Furthermore, the case is usually reviewed by other doctors who will state their expert opinion. Patients should provide evidence that the doctor’s specific actions directly caused any disability, impairment, loss of income, or any form of suffering or hardship.

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Chief medical officers of hospitals such as Dr. George Northrop are usually called by legal firms to review malpractice cases and determine their validity. A great number of cases do not proceed because they lack the aforementioned characteristics, which further increases the stress to the injured patient. It is important patients gather all pertinent information regarding their experience so that justice can be served.

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Dr. George Northrop was once Danbury Hospital’s academic hospitalist and Obsidium Group’s medical-legal consultant. Today, he serves as chief medical officer at Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. For more information about Dr. Northrop career as a physician and hospital executive, visit this LinkedIn page.