Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

7 INFECTION CONTROL & PATIENT SAFETY Florida physician faces $2.5K fine for hemostat left inside patient By Megan Knowles A n Ocala, Fla.-based surgeon is facing sanctions from the Florida State Board of Medicine and a $2,500 fine aer health officials alleged he le a hemostat inside a patient during a 2016 hernia operation, the Ocala Star-Banner reported. Here are seven things to know: 1. e state's final order was released July 9 in the case against Kevin Hoddinott, MD, a surgeon spe- cializing in general, vascular and bariatric surgery with Ocala-based Munroe Medical Group. 2. e state and Dr. Hoddinott agreed to a settle- ment, which includes the board issuing a letter of concern against Dr. Hoddinott's medical license, a $2,500 fine and reimbursement to the state of $1,661.10 for court costs. 3. e settlement also requires Dr. Hoddinott to attend eight hours of board disciplinary hearings and give a one-hour lecture on "retained foreign body objects" to medical staff at an approved medical facility, the Star-Banner reported. 4. e case against Dr. Hoddinott came from a hernia operation the surgeon performed in February 2016. e Department of Health claims Dr. Hoddinott le a surgical hemostat — a clamp used to control bleeding during surgery — in the patient's abdomen during the procedure. 5. In October 2016, an X-ray of the patient revealed the hemostat. e original complaint did not say what prompted the X-ray or if the patient had complained of discomfort, according to the Star-Banner. e patient had a second surgery to remove the hemostat a few days aer the X-ray. 6. Dr. Hoddinott neither admitted nor denied the allegations from the case, but acknowledged that if the allegations were true, they would violate Florida law and would serve as grounds for disci- plinary action by the state's board of medicine, the settlement agreement stated. 7. Dr. Hoddinott's attorney did not comment to the Star-Banner on the case. Dr. Hoddinott had no previous complaints or disciplinary actions prior to this case, according to Florida Depart- ment of Health records. n Physician burnout doubles risk of patient safety incidents, study finds By Megan Knowles P hysician burnout is associated with a higher risk of patient safety incidents, poorer care and lower patient satisfaction, according to a study covered in an American Journal of Managed Care blog post. The meta-analysis of 47 stud- ies, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, included more than 40,000 physicians. Looking at data compiled from the studies, the re- searchers found physician burnout doubled the odds of them being involved in patient safety incidents. The increased risk for safety inci- dents occurred when physicians were emotionally exhausted. The most risk for incidents occurred when physicians exhibited symp- toms of depression and emotional distress, which added a more than doubled the risk for patient safety incidents. The effects of burnout on patient safety did not significantly vary by how established a physician was in their career, the researchers found, but residents and physicians who were just starting their careers showed a bigger association be- tween burnout and lack of profes- sionalism than physicians who had been practicing longer. Reporting systems for care quality and patient safety outcomes need better standardization across healthcare organizations, enabling larger and more rigorous stud- ies to examine the association between burnout and patient care, the researchers said. n American Academy of Pediatrics recommends flu shot over FluMist By Harrison Cook T he American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children receive the injectable flu vaccine for the upcoming season, instead of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, according to STAT. "The AAP feels that the flu shot should be the primary vaccine choice for all children," Henry Bernstein, MD, a pediatrician at New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health and an ex-officio member of the AAP's committee on infectious diseases, told STAT. The APP's flu vaccine advice contradicts CDC recommendations, which promote the use of every flu vaccine on the market for children. Howev- er, both organizations agree more children need to be vaccinated. "Both groups are harmonized in wanting as many children to receive flu vaccines as possible each year," Dr. Bernstein told STAT. "When recommendations are not perfectly harmonized, it does pose the possibility for confusion." About 180 children under age 18 died from the flu during the 2017- 18 flu season. While the CDC recommends everyone older than six months receive the flu vaccine, only about 60 percent of children between the ages of 6 months and 17 years received flu vaccines in 2016-17, which is the most recent year with available data. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommend- ed against using FluMist for the past two flu seasons due to a lack of evidence regarding the vaccine's efficacy. In February, the committee voted to again recommend FluMist for the 2018-19 flu season. n

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