FDA Says to Decrease Reuse of Devices, CMS Removes Some Blanket Waivers

Be aware that as COVID-19 cases are declining and vaccination rates are climbing, the emergency waivers and measures approved by the federal government to get through the public health emergency (PHE) will be changing. The FDA sent a notice to hospitals and others April 9 encouraging healthcare organizations to start moving away from the emergency measures taken to preserve and reuse medical devices and other supplies early in the PHE.

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UC Health Shares 4 Lessons Learned from Coronavirus Pandemic

By multiple measures, COVID-19 has challenged healthcare providers more than any other public health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic. As the coronavirus pandemic enters its second year, many health systems, hospitals, and physician practices remain in crisis mode. A pair of physician leaders at Cincinnati-based UC Health recently spoke with HealthLeaders to discuss how the health system has grappled with COVID-19.

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Yes, You Must Open Doors to Unvaccinated Surveyors

CMS sent out a statement noting that federal and state surveyors must be permitted entry unless they show symptoms of the coronavirus as outlined in earlier infection control guidance regarding surveys. The statement apparently was in answer to a query from The Joint Commission (TJC), which was acting on the behalf of someone else, according to the Health Facilities Management Insider.

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IT Contribution to Physician Burnout Remains a Problem

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) points out the continuing role of information technology and electronic health record (EHR) usability issues in aggravating clinician burnout. Matt Lambert, MD, is a practicing emergency medicine physician, as well as chief medical officer of Curation Health, a supplier of clinical decision support software to healthcare providers.

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