Survey: As COVID-19 Numbers Soar, Some Nurses Don’t Have Adequate Protections

Nurses still face problems with access to testing, being notified in a timely manner when they are exposed, inadequate respiratory protection, unsafe staffing, mental health, and workplace violence, the survey reveals. Compared to results from the last survey in March 2021, RNs also reported inadequate COVID screening and testing rates for patients who enter or are admitted to a healthcare facility and a decrease in dedicated COVID units.

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Optimization of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Placement Practices

Amid a changing PICC clinical and reimbursement landscape, there is a need to identify best practices for PICC placement that promote widely held patient safety goals, clinical efficiency, and hospital financial health. Even small changes in clinical and/or reimbursement practices can have a significant impact given the high-volume nature of PICC procedures. Through literature review and interviews with key clinical and nonclinical stakeholders, this report seeks to illuminate features of the current PICC landscape with an eye toward determining the best practices for preserving a safe and high-functioning clinical system.  

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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