Year in Review: Healthcare Blunders and Successes on the Road to Improvement

This year has been a year of changes, of errors but also of successes. In review, I wanted to pinpoint on few of the ones related to the quality of healthcare provided, risk posed to the patient and employees as well as on safety related issues. It was a busy year for disease control:

1. The anthrax scare at the CDC

- in June, workers in a high-level biosecurity lab were preparing anthrax samples to be used for researching germs,

but the procedure didn't completely inactivate the bacteria. Some of the anthrax could have been airborne (according to the CDC). Also, the workers cited did not wear protective gear, assuming the samples were inactive (?). An investigation followed, discovering more safety breaches: expired decontaminants, unlocked refrigerators for samples, unrestricted hallways storage. Result: 2 labs shut, stopping shipment of dangerous items. Read more here.

2. More than 700 babies potentially exposed to TB

- add another 40 staff to the numbers of individuals exposed, for over a year. It takes one infectious employee to turn this scenario into a nightmare for parents and the CDC. This brings back into mind the necessity of vaccination and workplace health and safety measures. 

Result: five babies tested positive for TB. Plus moral damages to all involved. Details here. 

It was also a year of medical breakthroughs:

1. 3D technology successfully used by surgeons to perform first skull transplant. The patient, a 22 year old woman, recovered her vision and was able to return to work. Watch this amazing procedure here: 

2. After a year dubbed as the 'worst in history for Ebola', researchers find vaccine for Ebola and first survivors emerge after successful inoculation. Also on the topic of vaccines, the measles virus was used to put a patient's cancer into remission.

This is of course a very brief list of blunders and achievements. Let's hope for a 2015 where we can avoid errors, learn quickly from mistakes, and most of all, be optimistic and open to positive change and improvement!