Ongoing Pandemic Stretching Health Systems and Hospitals to Their Limits
The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest public health crisis in generations. The pandemic has strained health systems and hospitals on several fronts, including staffing, supply chain, and finances. In 2020 and 2021, health systems and hospitals received financial assistance from the federal government, but that assistance is dwindling.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 47 – How to Improve Interoperability and Outcomes
On episode 47 of PSQH: The Podcast, David Lareau, CEO of Medicomp Systems, talks about how new tools are needed to improve interoperability and patient outcomes.
Tackling Healthcare Disparities Begins in the C-Suite
In a report on the importance of diversity in the healthcare workforce published in 2021, Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACP, FTOS, expressed the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities when pursuing their medical degrees compared to those from majority groups. In a survey of about 3,500 healthcare professionals, the findings showed that minorities and women were less likely to rank their organization as “culturally competent.”
CMS to States: Enforce Vaccine and Other Patient Safety Requirements or Else
CMS published a warning to states that if they are contracted with the federal agency to carry out health and safety surveys that failure to carry out their responsibilities, including enforcing the new vaccine requirement, will result in a reduction of federal funds to the state’s survey offices.
Building Blocks to Better Data
The one thing healthcare isn’t short on is data. The industry has data coming in from all directions, but that’s not always a perfect scenario—data that is duplicated, low quality, or siloed can present barriers to better analysis. For healthcare systems to improve the way they want, data needs to be organized and unified.
The Key to a Healthier Enterprise: Unlocking the Potential of Nurse Scheduling
A recent study by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company revealed that 22% of nurses are considering leaving their jobs, 60% of whom said this possibility has become more likely since the beginning of the pandemic. A variety of factors influence nurses voluntarily separating from hospitals, but the 2021 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report found scheduling to be one of the top 10 reasons.
Where Technology and Patient Engagement Meet
With fewer in-person appointments and more remote care, maintaining quality means finding innovative ways to engage patients. Healthcare organizations are combining data, technology, and engagement strategies to enhance care delivery, from educating patients to work toward their recovery goals to ensuring providers can intervene in real time to stave off complications, readmissions, and other reasons for patient dissatisfaction.
NAHQ: Quality Professionals and Quality Work Essential During Crises Such as Coronavirus Pandemic
The pandemic has posed some of the greatest challenges to the healthcare sector in generations, and quality professionals have played key roles such as operating crisis command centers, activating telemedicine programs, and developing safety protocols for healthcare workers and patients.
Add Sleep Problems to the List of COVID-19 Challenges for Nurses
On the frontlines of the pandemic, nurses have faced staffing shortages, an early lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), intense fatigue, and being witness to unparalleled suffering, death, and grief, and these ongoing stressors have taken a toll on their mental health and well-being.
At Nursing Homes, Long Waits for Results Render COVID Tests ‘Useless’
More nursing homes are waiting longer for COVID-19 test results for residents and staffers, according to federal data, making the fight against record numbers of omicron cases even harder. The double whammy of slower turnaround times for lab-based PCR tests and a shortage of rapid antigen tests has strained facilities where quickly identifying infections is crucial for keeping a highly vulnerable population safe.