Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NIH To Overhaul Leadership At Flagship Hospital Following Report On Patient Safety Failures
The National Institutes of Health is overhauling the leadership of its flagship hospital after an independent review concluded that patient safety had become 鈥渟ubservient to research demands鈥 on the agency鈥檚 sprawling Bethesda campus. The shake-up at the NIH Clinical Center, which was announced to staff Tuesday, represents the most significant restructuring at the nation鈥檚 premier biomedical research institution in more than half a century. (Sun, 5/10)
The National Institutes of Health is overhauling the leadership of its renowned research hospital in the wake of what it termed 鈥渜uality and safety gaps鈥 in the production of sterile drugs used in clinical studies there. The federal agency, based in Bethesda, Md., said it would name a new physician chief executive to run the hospital, which is known as the NIH Clinical Center. This new official will report to a newly selected hospital board. The clinical center treats patients from around the U.S. who have rare and often fatal diseases. (Burton, 5/10)
[NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins] said the months-long probe into the hospital鈥檚 practices 鈥 which found systemic problems with patient safety 鈥 marked 鈥渢he darkest moments鈥 of his seven years at the NIH, according to the [Washington] Post. (Ferris, 5/10)