ProMedica Taking Comprehensive Approach to Social Determinants of Health
Social determinants of health (SDOH) such as housing, food security, and transportation can have a pivotal impact on the physical and mental health of patients. By making direct investments in initiatives designed to address SDOH and working with partners, healthcare organizations can help their patients in profound ways beyond clinical care.
Improving Interoperability
Often the blame for technological disruptions goes to a lack of interoperability—the ability of information technology systems and software applications to communicate, exchange data, and put this exchanged information to use. Ideally, data exchange standards would allow data to be shared across clinicians, labs, and facilities, regardless of the application or software vendor.
Adopting Gold-Standard Procedures During COVID-19
Out of necessity, the medical community has made do with remote learning during COVID-19, whether that’s through Zoom®, Webex®, or other online platforms.
Cleveland Clinic’s Virtual Second Opinion Program Changes Medical Treatment
In the 18 months since Cleveland Clinic launched its virtual second opinion program, The Clinic, 72% of cases have resulted in changes to patient’s treatment plans, and 28% of the time there has been a change in diagnosis.
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.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 26 – How Healthcare Facility Design Can Improve Patient Safety
On episode 26 of PSQH: The Podcast, Dr. Tom Schwieterman, vice president of clinical affairs and chief medical officer of Midmark, talks about how healthcare facility design can help improve patient safety.
New Survey Reveals How Hospital Supply Chains Affect Nurses, Patient Safety, and Margins
The report, Nurses: The Secret Factor for Better Supply Chains, an annual market report issued by healthcare inventory provider Syft, highlights hospital supply chain challenges at the point-of-use and key areas that require improvement.
Remote Patient Monitoring Brings Hospital-Quality Care to the Home
While Hospital at Home may sound like a direct reaction to the pandemic, the concept was originally developed in the mid-1990s by Dr. John Burton of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Dr. Donna Regenstreif of the John A. Hartford Foundation. Their goal, which was established roughly a decade before the introduction of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim, was to safely bring down the cost of acute care while improving outcomes and increasing patient satisfaction.
The Clinical Relevance of COVID-19 Testing Amid the Rollout of the Vaccine
From a medical point of view, there are five primary variables that will affect long-term demand for COVID-19 rapid antigen testing: pace of vaccination (U.S. and global); reaching a 70%–80% vaccinated population nationwide; reported case rate (U.S. and global); duration of the vaccine’s effectiveness in an individual (currently unknown); and the mutation rate of COVID-19 variants.
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.