Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk
The concerns raised in Oakland also have swept across the U.S., according to interviews, a review of government workplace safety complaints and health facility inspection reports. A KHN investigation found that dozens of nursing homes and hospitals ignored official guidelines to separate COVID patients from those without the coronavirus, in some places fueling its spread and leaving staff unprepared and infected or, in some cases, dead.
Promote Flu Vaccination to Help Avoid ‘Twindemic’
There is widespread concern among healthcare professionals that the United States could be facing two infectious disease emergencies this flu season. For example, the California Immunization Coalition and the California Chronic Care Coalition are urging Americans to get flu vaccination to avoid a deadly “twindemic” this fall and winter.
DNV-GL Now Second Deeming Authority for Psych Hospitals
The approval provides another option for the nation’s more than 600 psychiatric hospitals, said Patrick Horine, president of DNV-GL, the only for-profit AO of the four authorized to accredit acute care hospitals overall. Unlike the others, DNV-GL surveys hospitals at least once every three years, as required by CMS, but then also visits hospitals in each off year to ensure they are maintaining patient safety.
Avoid Punitive Approach to Your Safety Event Reporting
The co-authors of the recent research article, which was published in Annals of Emergency Medicine, conclude that safety event reporting regimes that focus on punishing individuals are self-defeating.
Dozens of U.S. Hospitals Poised to Defy FDA’s Directive on COVID Plasma
As many as 45 hospitals from coast to coast have expressed interest in collaborating on a randomized, controlled clinical trial sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said principal investigator Dr. Todd Rice.
Health Officials Worry Nation’s Not Ready for COVID-19 Vaccine
While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials expected to carry out the work.
HIMSS Outlines Political Health IT Priorities and Progress on Regulatory and Congressional Issues
While the terms of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services interoperability rulings were published informally on March 9, the official compliance date went into effect on May 1. Due to the pandemic, a period of enforcement discretion has extended several key compliance dates.
4 Recent Research Articles Examine N95 Respirator Mask Sterilization Methods
N95 respirator masks, which filter at least 95% of 0.3-μm particles, are the gold standard for protection against airborne pathogens such as the novel coronavirus. To conserve supplies of N95 respirator masks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that the masks be used by healthcare workers at highest risk of contracting infection or experiencing complications of infection.
HHS Makes COVID-19 Data Reporting a Medicare CoP as of 9/2
The interim rule, which was pre-published for public inspection late Thursday, says the data must be reported daily as specified by HHS and points to a July FAQ for the current list of information sets that must be reported.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 10 – Emergency Management and COVID-19
On episode 10 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Brad Gair, senior managing director, Witt O’Brien’s, about emergency management and lessons learned from COVID-19.