I saw the following headline this week: “LA woman dies in her cubicle at work; body is not discovered until the following day.” The article said it was unclear how she had died. I hope it was at the end of the day after everyone had left; I really hope they don’t find out that she died midday, amidst coworkers who were going about their business. Maybe they were so busy that they never noticed the silence from her cubicle.

This story reminded me of two articles I read recently. One was an article that will be published in the Emerging Infections department in our March issue, which goes live at the end of next week on ajnonline.com. “The Contact Precautions Controversy” examines the issues around placing patients on contact precautions and in isolation—an approach that many hospitals use almost routinely for some patients. (We covered this issue in a news piece last July as well.) Recent studies are raising questions about this practice and the risks to these patients, who often have fewer interactions, get less care, and may feel neglected because health care providers limit contact.

The other article is one that’s in the headlines now.  The Boston Globe ran a story […]