After the Pandemic, In-Person Visits Preferred Over Telehealth Visits, Study Finds
The new research article, which was published today by Health Affairs, features survey data collected from 337 primary care physicians and 1,417 patients. The physician survey was conducted from Feb. 12 to May 24, 2021. The patient survey was conducted from April 30 to May 11, 2021.
‘Tsunami of Criticism’ Follows DEA’s Proposed Telemedicine Prescribing Rules
The long-awaited proposal, unveiled in February, had been expected to ease the pathway for healthcare providers to use telemedicine to prescribe medications like buprenorphine without needing an in-person examination. But with the agency’s 30-day window for public comments expiring, the vast majority of the 20,000+ comments submitted have been negative.
PSQH Quick Poll: Taking the Pulse of Patient Safety
As part of PSQH’s celebration of Patient Safety Awareness Week, we decided to reach out to our readers with a few questions to find out the state of patient safety efforts in 2023. Part of PSQH’s Patient Safety Awareness Week activities, this PSQH Quick Poll is presented in partnership with GOJO – the makers of Purell, Nuance, Origami Risk, and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. The Quick Poll had a total of 105 respondents.
Long COVID Patients at Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Conditions, Study Finds
Long COVID, also known as post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), is defined as having new, returning, or ongoing health issues more than four weeks after an initial infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms that lead to a diagnosis of long COVID include fatigue, cough, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, neurocognitive difficulties, and depression.
Technology and Automation to Help Prevent Staff Burnout
With greater burden on staff and a rising shortage of personnel, organizations are turning to technology to alleviate the stressors that are driving staff away or preventing them from practicing at the top of their license. One way they’re accomplishing this is automating tasks wherever possible. In fact, McKinsey says that roughly a third of all healthcare provider tasks are automatable.
‘Tripledemic’ Reveals Critical Need for Better Patient Triage and Transfer Services
During November 2022, hospitals in states such as Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina were forced to set up triaging tents in their parking lots, postpone elective surgeries, or impose visitor restrictions owing to the high numbers of patients showing up in their EDs. In December, patients at one Oregon health system had to wait for more than two days to be transferred to other facilities for higher levels of care. In effect, the situation felt like 2020 again.
How Will the End of the PHE Affect Telehealth and Digital Health?
When the PHE was created in January of 2020 to help the nation deal with the growing pandemic, a number of waivers and exemptions were put in place by federal and state regulators to help healthcare organizations expand and be reimbursed for digital health and telehealth services. The idea behind this was to allow providers to use virtual and connected health tools and platforms to reduce the spread of the virus and make sure consumers were able to access needed healthcare services.
Long COVID is Partly to Blame for Workforce Shortages
Some 71% of claimants with long COVID were still receiving treatment and unable to return to work for six months or more, according to data from the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF), the largest worker compensation insurance fund in the state. The study analyzed more than 3,000 COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims received by NYSIF between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.
It’s Official: COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to End on May 11
As promised, the White House is giving ample notice—the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will end on May 11. In a statement January 30, the White House said it would end the PHE, which has allowed hospitals and other providers a number of compliance and other waivers to help ease the burden on healthcare.
Pandemic’s Toll: 55.3% of Surveyed Healthcare Workers Report Subthreshold PTSD Symptoms
The recent study, which was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, is based on survey data collected from 852 healthcare workers from January 2021 to February 2021. The survey participants were recruited from emergency departments affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and emergency medical service agencies in several states, including Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.