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Practices at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, the hospital where cutting-edge medical research is conducted, require sweeping reform to better protect patient safety, a task force appointed by the agency reported Thursday. The panel of experts, appointed by NIH Director Francis S. Collins, found that the hospital’s research focus sometimes took priority over the safety of the critically ill patients treated there. It also said that the center has many “outdated or inadequate facilities” and that personnel lack expertise on regulations that apply to the hospital and its research and drug-manufacturing units. (Bernstein and McGinley, 4/21)

That's the conclusion of a sweeping review by a task force of independent experts convened by the NIH. The team has made a slew of recommendations, including the creation of an outside hospital board to oversee the clinical center, and a new central office to coordinate research quality and safety oversight. "The emphasis on research is so great, and on trying to save people's lives, that there became a cultural attitude that overshadowed handling some of the details that are important details," says Norman Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, who chaired the task force. (Greenfieldboyce, 4/21)