Week in Review: November 15

By Samantha Rossi • November 15, 2019

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The Week in Review provides an overview of the past week’s top health care content, including industry news and trends, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Laboratories news, and upcoming events.

Industry News

Deadly Superbugs Pose Greater Threat Than Previously Estimated

Drug-resistant germs sicken about 3 million people every year in the United States and kill about 35,000, representing a much larger public health threat than previously understood, according to a long-awaited report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new estimates show that, on average, someone in the United States gets an antibiotic-resistant infection every 11 seconds, and every 15 minutes, someone dies. Via Washington Post.

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Apple’s Reach Reshapes Medical Research

In 1976, the Harvard School of Public Health and two other major medical institutions started a study on nurses that has become one of the largest and longest research efforts ever conducted on women’s health. They have so far enrolled more than 275,000 participants. On Thursday, the Harvard school announced an even more ambitious women’s health study, one that aims to enroll a million women over a decade. The new ingredients allowing the huge scale: Apple’s iPhones, apps and money. Harvard’s new study is just one of three new large research efforts that Apple is working on with leading academic research centers and health organizations. Together, the studies, which Apple is paying for, show how the Silicon Valley giant and its popular products are reshaping medical research. Via New York Times.

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Mayo Clinic News

Minnesota Looks To Evolve Its Patient Safety Reporting System

Right now, Minnesota requires all hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to conduct a root cause analysis for each event that occurs and how to prevent it from recurring. "It's a lengthy process," said Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler, vice chair of quality and affordability at Mayo Clinic. At Mayo Clinic Hospital, the system's flagship facility in Rochester, Minn., 41 never events occurred, according to the state's most recent report. Of those, 11 were pressure ulcers, 10 were wrong surgeries and six were falls. One fall killed a patient, while five caused serious harm. While Mayo Clinic takes every never event seriously, there are some events that aren't helped by conducting a root cause analysis, Morgenthaler said. Via Modern Healthcare.

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You Can't Get The Flu From The Flu Shot, But There Are Side Effects

If you get the flu shot, common side effects include, "soreness, redness, or swelling might develop at the injection site," Dr. Charles Peters of the Mayo Health Clinic System tells Insider. Other common side effects include achiness or a low-grade fever of less than 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Via Insider.

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What To Know About Metabolic Syndrome

A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that obese and overweight people who shed at least 15% of their body weight--and kept it off for a year--had a 37% lower risk of metabolic syndrome. Even a 5% drop can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce belly fat (another risk factor). Via New York Daily News.

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Samantha Rossi

Samantha Rossi is a Digital Marketing Manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. She supports marketing strategies for product management and specialty testing. Samantha has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2019.