Hospital communication failure cited in review of care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, and other news

Modern Healthcare

  • The Texas hospital that treated the first person diagnosed in the U.S. with Ebola stumbled because of communication failures, an independent review released last week found. Staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas misdiagnosed Liberian emigre Thomas Eric Duncan with sinusitis and sent him home, although his fever reached 103 degrees during his initial visit, and despite the fact that staff learned he had recently arrived from Africa. The report, the first outside review of the hospital's response, found that a nurse failed to verbally communicate Duncan's travel history to the attending physician. It also faulted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for failing to educate the hospital on the use of personal protective equipment, waste management and “other challenges that would emerge as critical.”

  • Highmark Health said it will reduce its range of products on the health insurance marketplace as a result of losing $318 million in the first six months of the year on plans sold to exchange consumers. The Pittsburgh-based not-for-profit said demand for medical care greatly exceeded expectations. Many of those who bought Highmark exchange plans previously had no insurance and were grappling with chronic illness. Roughly 379,000 people are covered under Highmark health plans sold on the exchanges. Highmark health plans cover 5.3 million people in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

  • The president of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Robert Kelly, has stepped down from his post. The $4.6 billion hospital removed Kelly's biography and his name from its website. The move was sudden and immediately sparked talk of the circumstances surrounding his departure. Executives at other New York hospitals heard that Kelly left “suddenly.” A hospital spokeswoman said Kelly resigned “for personal reasons.”
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