Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that provisional data show 100,306 overdose deaths occurred in the country in the 12-month period ending in April, representing a 28.5% increase over the overdose deaths that occurred during the same period the year before. The data show opioid overdose deaths increased by nearly 20,000.

On episode 41 of PSQH: The Podcast, Dr. Dawn Morton-Rias, CEO of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, talks about how the role of physician assistants has evolved over the years.

The new study, which was published by The Commonwealth Fund, examined the medical and nonmedical costs associated with nine maternal morbidities: amniotic fluid embolism, cardiac arrest, gestational diabetes mellitus, hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, maternal mental health conditions, renal disease, sepsis, and venous thromboembolism.

The work of nurse practitioners (NP) is being heralded with proclamations and certificates by U.S. governors as they and healthcare providers, policymakers, and patients join the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® in celebrating National NP Week this week, November 7-13, 2021.

On episode 40 of PSQH: The Podcast, Dr. Alana McGolrick, chief nursing officer of PeriGen, talks about using technology to improve maternal health in childbirth.

Englewood (Florida) Community Hospital has received 18 consecutive “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, a national distinction recognizing achievements protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. Leapfrog is an industry standard for safety, quality of care, and patient experience, particularly for insurance agencies that check grades before recommending facilities to their clientele. Englewood is one of only 41 “Straight A” hospitals to be awarded an “A” in every grading cycle since 2012.

April Kapu, an associate dean for Vanderbilt’s School of Nursing, leads more than 119,000 members of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She assumed the presidency July 1 and will serve a two-year term. Kapu talked with HealthLeaders about how NPs are changing healthcare, the likelihood of all states granting full practice authority to NPs, and what AANP members can expect from her for the next two years.

The potential for the spread of respiratory illness in healthcare settings has been a primary concern during the coronavirus pandemic. To address this concern, many outpatient clinics closed their doors in the early phase of the pandemic and telehealth expanded tremendously to keep patients and their clinicians safely connected for care.

Black adults experience higher rates of adverse safety events compared to White patients treated in the same hospital, according to a new analysis released today by Urban Institute researchers and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.