ATA Chair: Telemedicine Choices in Next Few Months Will Shape the Next Decade
From March to June 2020, 30% of all U.S. outpatient activity was conducted via telehealth, in contrast to 0.8% in the same time period during 2019, according to FAIR Health, an independent nonprofit that collects data for and manages the nation’s largest database of privately billed health insurance claims and is entrusted with Medicare Parts A, B, and D claims data for 2013 to the present.
Patient Experience Key Element in Safety and Quality Improvement Initiatives
Patient experience is a valuable element of addressing patient safety incidents and conducting quality improvement initiatives. After decades of operating with provider-centric care, healthcare organizations are becoming increasingly patient-centric. Evaluating and improving patient experience is a core component of patient-centric care.
CEOs Make Healthcare Worker Safety a Top Priority
Healthcare settings pose several safety concerns for caregivers and other staff members. The dangers include emotional and psychological harm, hazards such as contaminated sharp objects, and workplace violence. The CEO Coalition’s Declaration of Principles focuses on three areas of healthcare worker safety. The CEO Coalition features the top executives at 10 healthcare organizations, including Cleveland Clinic, Henry Ford Health System, SSM Health, and UCLA Hospital System.
Nearly Half of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Discharged in Declining Shape
Nearly half of COVID-19 patients left the hospital with significant functional decline post-discharge, a new study from Michigan Medicine found. Of those survivors who suffered functional decline, 80% were referred for additional therapy after discharge. Nearly 20% of all patients declined to the point that they were no longer able to live independently.
New Toolkit Aids Nurse Leaders in Reestablishing Family-Presence Policies
The Family Presence Policy Decision-Making Toolkit for Nurse Leaders, a free resource, was developed by a stakeholder group consisting of nurses, healthcare executives, quality and safety experts, and patients and family caregivers convened by Planetree International, a not-for-profit organization that partners with healthcare organizations to create cultures of person-centered care.
Processing Clinician Grief and Burnout During, and Outside of, a Pandemic
Clinician burnout as a whole did not originate during the pandemic. Stephanie Queen, senior vice president of clinical services and chief nursing officer of Air Methods, an air medical transport organization, began researching clinician grief and burnout as far back as 2004 to better help her colleagues—and herself—with the experience.
California HHS Rebuffs CDC, Extends Mask Guidance Through Mid-June
California state health officials announced this week that they will extend a mask mandate through June 15, despite Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that lifted many of the restrictions for fully vaccinated people.
Emergency Preparedness and Utility Infrastructure in Healthcare
As the COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the country and around the world, healthcare organizations can now pivot from frontline surge preparation and focus on futureproofing their facilities. While hospitals successfully implemented emergency facility upgrades and stopgap measures to meet pressing pandemic demands, now is the perfect time for healthcare leaders to take a more comprehensive approach to their utility infrastructure capacity and capabilities.
Targeted Genetic Sequencing: Changing the Way We Think About Chronic Disease
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that six in 10 adults in the U.S. have a chronic health condition such as heart disease, lung disease, cancer, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s, while four in 10 have two or more chronic diseases. And Americans with five or more chronic conditions, who make up 12% of the population, account for an astounding 41% of total healthcare spending. That’s nearly $1.6 billion each year.
Wellness and Awareness: A Look at the State of Health in 2021
Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent with CNN and a practicing neurosurgeon, spoke with attendees at the recent Health Experience Design Conference 2021 to talk about his observations as a correspondent, his takeaways from the COVID-19 pandemic, and his views on where we go from here.