Healthcare 2023: A Pressing Need to Move From Reactive to Proactive
We deserve a healthcare system that does more than fix us when we’re sick. Our daily living—the actions we take regarding nutrition, fitness, sleep, mental health, relationships, and financial management, and how social determinants impact these actions—is the biggest factor in our health and total well-being. Yet, our healthcare system primarily treats sickness rather than working to prevent it in the first place.
Improved Integration: Core to 2023 Successes
Now that 2022 has drawn to a close, it’s a good time to take stock and figure out what is on the horizon for 2023. Supply chain pressures, workforce shortages, and more have presented the healthcare industry with many challenges to overcome, and other financial and labor-related pressures continue to mount.
Patient Safety Predictions for 2023
PSQH reached out to professionals throughout healthcare to get their predictions for what will happen in patient safety and healthcare quality in 2023. Here’s what they had to say.
Flu Patients at Risk of Developing Sepsis
Sepsis is the body’s extreme reaction to an infection, and it can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death, according to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. CDC annual statistics on sepsis are eye-popping: about 1.7 million American adults develop sepsis, at least 350,000 American adults with sepsis die during their hospitalization or are discharged to hospice, and 1 of 3 people who die in a hospital had sepsis during their hospitalization.
HHS Again Tackles a Proposed New Rule Against ‘Conscience and Religious Discrimination’
The proposal, which would be entitled “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes,” is designed to “to restore the longstanding process for the handling of conscience complaints and provide additional safeguards to protect against conscience and religious discrimination,” according to an HHS statement from Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Joint Commission Eliminates Use of ‘Licensed Independent Practitioner’
The Joint Commission (TJC) will no longer use the term “licensed independent practitioner” in its hospital and critical access hospital standards. Starting February 19, 2023, the term “licensed practitioner” will be used.
Pain Relief vs. Addiction and Overdose: Four Steps to Maintain an Appropriate Equilibrium
Opioids have become a substance of concern due to their propensity to spark misuse and addiction. Tragically, the CDC estimates that there have been about 1 million drug overdose deaths since 1999, of which 82.3% involved a synthetic opioid.
A Virtual Second Opinion Can Save Your Life
Your loved one is likely already receiving high-quality medical care for their condition. However, there may be times when you or your loved one desires a second opinion, like Dan. Perhaps your loved one has a condition that, despite treatment, isn’t improving or is getting worse; perhaps they have been diagnosed with a serious or rare health condition or have been told their condition is not treatable; perhaps they are facing treatment that involves significant risks, such as surgery or chemotherapy.
Improving Access to Ultrasound at the Point of Care
With more user-friendly technology that leverages artificial intelligence (AI), caregivers across departments—from emergency care to cardiology to primary care—could use ultrasound to quickly diagnose and treat patients suffering from a plethora of conditions. In fact, they’d be able to use it wherever the point of care happens to be, whether that’s in a hospital, in a clinic, or at a patient’s home.
Monitoring TAVR Patients for Improved Outcomes
For patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure is often performed as a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery. This helps shorten a patient’s hospital stay and increases their chances of being discharged home. As TAVR procedures become more common, hospitals are now leveraging cardiac monitoring devices to monitor for significant arrhythmias post-discharge.