Should OSHA’s New COVID-19 Protections Become Permanent? Comment Until August 20
OSHA announced on July 8 that it was extending the comment period until August 20 on the interim rule that creates a new Subpart U in the OSHA standards. The federal agency is asking, among other things, whether the emergency temporary requirements should become permanent.
Hospital-at-Home Program Slated to Start Next Month at UMass Memorial Health
The technology backbone of UMass Memorial Health’s Hospital at Home program, provided by Current Health, will provide real-time insight into patient health and coordinating in-home clinical care and services. Current Health will enroll UMass Memorial Health patients eligible for the program through Current Health’s platform and configure everything patients need to remotely engage with their care teams, including monitoring equipment, in-home connectivity, and a tablet for chat and video communication.
Nurses Urge CDC to Reinstate Universal Masking
Noting that the “COVID-19 pandemic is far from over,” with most states seeing increasing cases, National Nurses United (NNU) sent a letter Monday to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asking the agency to once again recommend that masks be worn in public to reduce the increasing spread of the virus.
OIG Cites CMS for Poor Risk Assessments
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently investigated The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to check whether the agency, which oversees patient safety at hundreds of U.S. hospitals, considers national security as part of its enterprise risk management (ERM) process.
Why Pandemic-Initiated Safety Protocols Are Here to Stay
Healthcare facilities were acutely aware of the need to consistently enforce protocols for verifying who was in a building at a given time. In response, mobile COVID-19 health screening apps became part of the procedure, integrating with credentialing kiosks to provide healthcare facilities with a consistent approach to creating safer spaces for patients, providers, visitors, and vendors.
Improving Pregnancy Health: How We Can Predict Challenges Sooner
A team of physicians are working on groundbreaking research into pregnancy-related cell-free RNA (cfRNA) to develop a simple blood test that would enable early detection of conditions like preterm birth, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes. The test uses a small blood sample to analyze tens of thousands of molecular transcripts from the mother, baby, and placenta.
Medication Non-Adherence: Solving an Eternal Challenge
Healthcare plans for the underserved markets, which include patients using Medicaid, Medicare Dual Advantage, or a healthcare exchange, offer limited options under the current pharmacy setup; there is also limited technology focusing on which patients are best served by which type of pharmacy.
Supporting the At-Home Care Team
By 2030, all baby boomers will be age 65 or older, increasing the already strong need for elderly care. In a 2020 report, Caregiving in the U.S., AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving identified that nearly one in five people (19%) are providing unpaid care to an adult with health or functional needs. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when staying at home meant reducing risk of infection, the value of at-home caregivers became even more evident.
What’s Ahead for Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Based on an industrywide study, ASCs continue to perform more than half of all U.S. outpatient surgical procedures, and they can expect to see greater volumes as the number of outpatient procedures increases an estimated 15% by 2028. However, analysts predict this number will be even higher based on the CMS 2021 final rule on the Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASCs.
AORN Updates Skin Antisepsis Guidelines: What This Means for Organizations
Facilities had relied on research prior to official guidelines, which makes the update to AORN’s response impactful. The AORN adds their voice to the World Health Organization, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, as well as the CDC and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.