medicine news

Despite increased emphasis on patient safety, little progress has been made in making hospitals safer, says Johns Hopkins critical care specialist Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., in an article in the Dec. 24 issue of the Journal of the American medical Association. He identifies physician autonomy and a lack of standardization of safety protocols as the culprits.

In light of reports that Michael Jackson is suffering from a rare respiratory condition caused by Alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency, Jeffrey Teckman, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University school of Medicine, is available to talk about the diagnosis, causes and treatment of the disease.