Cybersecurity in Medicine: How Can Physicians and Medical Staff Do Their Part?
Locks on a building are irrelevant if an employee leaves a window open; similarly, cybersecurity protocol is irrelevant if medical personnel are not trained to ensure protection of the network. Like the continuous battle surrounding antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the fight between cybersecurity measures and hackers is also ongoing.
Three Tips to Empower Teamwork Focused on Infection Prevention
By Sharon Ward-Fore Surface disinfection is key to containing viral outbreaks. Fundamentally, the concept and importance of surface disinfection hasn’t changed. However, the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic on today’s world makes it imperative to change how the healthcare community conducts proper surface cleaning and disinfection. It starts with mindset – because healthcare and … Continued
COVID-19 Cost U.S. 9M Years of Life Expectancy
The COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 660,000 lives in the U.S. has also cut aggregate life expectancy here by more than 9 million years, according to a study published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine. The study authors said their findings suggest that the mortality burden of COVID-19 is more substantial than previously thought.
CMS Warns Hospitals: Remember EMTALA Obligations, Particularly With Pregnant Patients
CMS issued a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) memo Friday September 17 on “Reinforcement of EMTALA Obligations specific to Patients who are Pregnant or are Experiencing Pregnancy Loss.” The memo, QSO-21-22-Hospitals, not only reminded hospitals to “ensure all staff who may come into contact with a patient seeking emergency care are aware of the hospital’s obligation under EMTALA,” but had an express message for clinicians.
Mitigate Patient Safety Risks Posed by the ‘Imaging Squeeze’
Between 2021 and 2028, the global medical imaging market is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2%. Trends fueling the growth include more preventive healthcare initiatives, an aging population, and the prevalence of chronic conditions such as cardiac diseases and cancer. Imaging already is a key part of clinical treatment plans; it promises to become only more so.
CEO Coalition Declares New Definition of Safety to Protect Healthcare Workers
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the fierce dedication and commitment of healthcare workers as we watched them run into the fire, during surge after surge, to care for their patients and support their colleagues. The pandemic also put a spotlight on the psychological, emotional, and physical trauma they endured due to system inefficiencies and supply and staffing shortfalls.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 37 – The Digital Front Door of Healthcare
On episode 37 of PSQH: The Podcast, Greg Miller of Talkdesk talks about hospital contact centers serving as the digital front door for healthcare organizations.
TJC Warns Immediate Threats to Safety ‘Spiking’ Over Single-Use Devices
Check your emergency rooms, outpatient clinics, wound care clinics, ambulatory care sites and anywhere else where pandemic-related equipment shortages have forced your facility to go outside normal supply lines for replacement medical devices.
Health Systems and Hospitals Grappling With Workforce Shortages
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted workforce shortages at health systems and hospitals across the country. On Sept. 1, the American Nurses Association urged the federal Department of Health & Human Services to declare a nurse staffing crisis and to take immediate steps to implement solutions. Last week, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health announced that the Lebanon, New Hampshire-based health system had raised its minimum rate of pay for all positions from $14 per hour to $17 per hour to address workforce shortages.
Survey: Workers Embrace Telehealth
One-fifth of 14,000 employees from 13 nations surveyed in a poll conducted by Mercer consultants used telehealth for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic and 72% of them say they intend to keep using it. The 2021 Mercer Health on Demand survey, released this week, also detected a big bump in employee interest in other digital health options, including apps to find providers and virtual reality tools for self-care.