At Nursing Homes, Long Waits for Results Render COVID Tests ‘Useless’
More nursing homes are waiting longer for COVID-19 test results for residents and staffers, according to federal data, making the fight against record numbers of omicron cases even harder. The double whammy of slower turnaround times for lab-based PCR tests and a shortage of rapid antigen tests has strained facilities where quickly identifying infections is crucial for keeping a highly vulnerable population safe.
How Digital Health Lays the Groundwork for Future Healthcare Strategy
Baptist Health is one of many health systems using digital health to improve its ICU services and connect care providers throughout the Arkansas-based 11-hospital network, improving care at the bedside and enabling small, rural hospitals to reduce transfers and care for more patients. Executives say the platform, which has been in use for roughly 14 years, allows them to coordinate care from the main hospitals in Little Rock and give outlying hospitals with fewer resources the support they need.
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Time Management Brings Order to Nurse Leaders’ COVID Chaos
When COVID-19 brought chaos to nurse leaders at Allegheny Health Network (AHN)’s 14 hospitals, a time management course designed just for them helped them feel less overwhelmed about their day.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 46 – How Technology Can Help Ease the Burden on Physicians
On episode 46 of PSQH: The Podcast, Dr. Mukul Mehra, Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of IllumiCare, talks about how to deal with physician shortages and burnout.
Opioid Use Disorder Plays Significant Role in Many Sepsis Cases
Sepsis develops in response to infection, and can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. Sepsis is the leading cause of in-hospital death in the United States. More than 1.7 million Americans are diagnosed with sepsis annually.
COVID-19 Becoming Endemic Is a Matter of When, Not If
According to Dr. Sachin Nagrani, medical director for primary care provider Heal, during a pandemic the number of COVID cases rise and fall across world at an unstable rate. However, for a virus to become endemic, there needs to be a constant prevalence of it an expected level on an ongoing basis.
Cybersecurity is Still The Top Tech Threat in Healthcare, According to ECRI
The Pennsylvania-based non-profit, which analyzes the safety, quality and cost-effectiveness of care across the healthcare spectrum, says the threat of unauthorized online access or a data breach is as high as ever, due in large part to the sophistication of the attackers and the growing value of medical data.
All States, Territories Now Subject to CMS COVID-19 Vaccination Rule
In a new memo to CMS state surveyors posted January 20, the agency added Texas as the final state subject to the rule after the last injunction was lifted from court challenges filed last year to the federal mandate. The deadlines for having all staff vaccinated vary according to the version of the memo under which your state falls.
New Joint Commission ‘Quick Safety’ Advisory Addresses Intimate Partner Violence
The new advisory provides Joint Commission requirements and national recommendations to identify and help patients who have experienced intimate partner violence, which is “behavior by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and controlling behaviors,” according to the World Health Organization.