News in brief - Sept. 27, 2004

5.5 million health care workers needed - Eisenberg patient safety award winners announced - Doctor arrested for refusing to draw blood from stabbing suspect - CDC sponsors new fellowship in epidemiology

5.5 million health care workers needed

Employment in the health care work force is expected to grow faster than the nonhealth sector, according to a report from the University at Albany's Center for Health Workforce Studies at the School of Public Health. Between 2002 and 2012, the health sector is predicted to expand 30% compared with 13.5% for the nonhealth sector.

The report, "Health Care Employment Projections: An Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Projections, 2002-2012," projects that 3.3 million health workers will be needed to fill new positions in addition to the 2 million who will be needed to replace individuals who leave their positions.

"Increased demand for health services and health workers is clearly related to the 'graying' of the U.S. population," said center director Jean Moore. "The United States is experiencing a dramatic growth in its elderly population. .... This will fuel growing demand for health care services."

Eisenberg patient safety award winners announced

A patient safety pioneer, a leading adviser to a health care purchaser group, two physician authors, a U.S. Army major and a suburban Pittsburgh hospital were the winners of the 2004 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards sponsored by the National Quality Forum and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Lucian Leape, MD, one of the authors of the Institute of Medicine's "To Err is Human" report and adjunct professor of health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, was given the individual achievement award for his "fundamental conceptual contributions to contemporary understanding" of medical errors and his "tireless efforts to improve the safety of care for all patients."

Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an adviser to The Leapfrog Group coalition of employers and purchasers of health care services, was given the research achievement award for his "creative initiatives that have led to dramatic improvements in safety and quality of care in intensive care units."

There were two awards for innovation. The first went to University of California San Francisco-based physicians, Kaveh G. Shojania, MD, and Robert M. Wachter, MD, for their book on medical errors, Internal Bleeding. They were recognized for their creation of case-based patient safety educational materials.

Major Danny Jaghab of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio was recognized for his distance learning program on sentinel events, root-cause analysis and risk-cutting ideas.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-McKeesport was given the award for innovation at the local or organizational level for its development of personalized self-learning packets, which have shown effectiveness in reducing infections and falls.

Doctor arrested for refusing to draw blood from stabbing suspect

A doctor's decision to protect patient privacy and follow hospital policy resulted in his arrest by the Minneapolis police when he refused an officer's request to draw blood from a man suspected in a fatal stabbing.

Police brought the suspect to the Hennepin County Medical Center's emergency department to have his blood-alcohol level tested in the early morning on Aug. 14, but Marc Martel, MD, refused to do so without the man's consent, said Minneapolis Police Public Information Officer Ron Reier. "It was his understanding that he would be violating the doctor-patient relationship," Reier said.

According to a statement released by HCMC, Dr. Martel's refusal was based on his understanding of the hospital's policy for collecting legal evidence that requires a court order to perform invasive procedures when the patient does not consent to the procedure.

After Dr. Martel was taken to police headquarters to be interviewed, police phoned a judge who authorized the blood test, and it was then performed by another physician. Police released Dr. Martel and decided not to pursue misdemeanor obstruction charges against him, Reier said.

HCMC spokeswoman Christine Hill said the hospital is currently reviewing its policy on intrusive procedures to obtain evidence, and Reier emphasized that the police maintain a good working relationship with the hospital.

"It was a misunderstanding, and it's all been cleared up," Reier said.

CDC sponsors new fellowship in epidemiology

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has started a one-year fellowship in epidemiology and biostatistics for medical students. The first eight started this month, and their curriculum will include field investigations of disease outbreaks and other public health threats alongside related classroom training and seminars.

Denise Koo, MD, MPH, director of CDC's Division of Applied Public Health Training, said, "Never before have medical students had the opportunity to receive this kind of in-depth, hands-on experience at CDC. ... Not only will it prepare them for potential careers in public health, but also it will give them a solid understanding of their role in the larger public health system, even if they choose to go into clinical medicine."

The fellowship program entitled "The CDC Experience," was funded by a $600,000 grant to the CDC Foundation from Pfizer Inc. and The Pfizer Foundation.