Does Meditation Really Trump Morphine For Pain Relief? Don't Bet On It

Patient Safety: California lawmakers once again set the stage for hospitals to delay seismic safety retrofitting, Christina Jewett reports for California Watch. This time, an assembly committee okays a 7-year-extension.

Pain Relief: Despite the hype over a small new study suggesting that meditation trumps morphine for relieving pain, the Los Angeles Times' Marissa Cevallos reports, don't toss away your painkillers just yet.

Radiation: As Japan experiences a 7.1 aftershock that hampers fixes to a crippled nuclear plant, ProPublica's Sheri Fink reports that the U.S. healthcare system is woefully unprepared for a catastrophic release of radiation. One reason: we've stopped stockpiling potassium iodide, the best-known treatment for preventing radiation-induced thyroid cancer.    

Patient Safety: Medical errors and other adverse events occur in one-third of hospital admissions-as much as ten times more than some previous estimates have indicated, according to authors of a new study published in Health Affairs, Chris Fleming notes in the health policy journal's blog.

Doc Training: Is a well-rested doctor a better doctor? Dr. Pauline Chen examines that question for the New York Times in light of new studies suggesting that patients treated by residents don't necessarily fare better when these doctors-in-training get more sleep.

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