CMS Urges Hospitals to Take Violence Prevention Steps
To provide care in a safe setting for both patients and healthcare workers, hospitals need to identify patients at risk for intentional harm to themselves or others, CMS recommended in its November 28 memo, as well as identify environmental safety risks for such patients and provide education and training for staff and volunteers. CMS said it expects hospitals to demonstrate how they identify patients at risk of self-harm or harm to others and what steps they are taking to minimize those risks.
Second Year of Coronavirus Pandemic Took Heavy Toll on Clinicians
The new study, which was published last week by JAMA Health Forum, is based on survey data collected from more than 20,000 clinicians. The survey data was collected between February 2019 and December 2021.
AHA: ‘A Strong and Resilient Workforce is the Backbone of Our Hospitals and Health Systems’
Health systems and hospitals are facing widespread workforce shortages, particularly in nursing. Top healthcare executives say staffing shortages are their most pressing clinical care problem now that the crisis phase of the coronavirus pandemic has passed. Burnout has spiked during the pandemic.
Alarm Raised Over Patient Boarding in Emergency Departments
Boarding in emergency departments occurs when there is a shortage of inpatient beds for hospital admissions or there are no beds at external facilities such as psychiatric hospitals. The Joint Commission recommends that emergency department boarding not exceed four hours; however, it has become common to have emergency department boarding for days or weeks, according to ACEP.
Mass General Brigham Issues Patient Code of Conduct
Under a newly imposed Patient Code of Conduct, patients and visitors who disrupt care, make verbal or physical threats — including racist, sexist, discriminatory or disrespectful comments about clinicians, other hospital staff, other patients and visitors — could face a verbal reprimand, and even expulsion from the Boston hospital and possible suspension of future care access.
Care Coordination and the Labor Shortage: How We Can Prepare
Today’s care coordination is often a manual and time-consuming process that depends on hard-copy patient lists, notes, and other physical documentation. Improving this state of affairs has historically involved throwing people at the problem—dedicating hours and staff to tasks like closing care gaps, securing referrals, placing follow-up calls, and more.
More Than 5K Nurses Sign Up for Free Burnout Prevention Program
More than 5,000 nurses have signed up for a new free nurse burnout prevention program in which the American Nurses Association (ANA) is encouraging its members to participate. ANA has partnered with SE Healthcare for the Burnout Prevention Enrichment CenterTM, a web-based platform that offers 24/7 an ever-growing collection of tools and audio and video educational content to help prevent career burnout.
How Burnout Impacts Healthcare Workers
According to a study by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis that looked at the supply and demand projections of nurses, some states will experience a shortage of registered nurses and licensed practical/vocational nurses by 2030, and a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges projected a shortage of 139,000 physicians by 2033.
American Medical Association Pushes ‘Recovery Plan’ for Physicians
Before the coronavirus pandemic, physician burnout was a national concern, and the pandemic has driven physician burnout to crisis proportions. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects there will be a shortage of physicians between 37,800 and 124,000 clinicians by 2034.
Surgeon General Releases Advisory on Health Worker Burnout
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, recently released an advisory to address a growing threat of health worker burnout. The advisory provides recommendations for how to address this issue, with steps that stakeholders can take to make changes in the systems, structures, and cultures that shape healthcare.