Nurse Leaders Aspire for Greater Role in Decision-Making During and Post-Pandemic
Nurse leaders throughout the nation were advocating with the U.S. government to loosen the restrictions on nurse licensure requirements from state to state so that nurses from the Midwest who weren’t being immediately affected by the pandemic could go to New York and help, for example.
RAND: Boost Efforts to Integrate Family Caregivers Into Healthcare Teams
The new report says there are multiple clinical benefits from integrating home caregivers into formal healthcare teams, including improving patient access to services, reducing unmet needs of patients, boosting quality of care, and delaying patient institutionalization.
Digital Health: Using Technology to Improve Patient Care
Digital health requires the effective involvement of health professionals, whether for telemedicine, video conferences, or mobile applications for consultations, screenings, or follow-up. To their credit, when the pandemic hit, hospitals and care units acted immediately in response to this need to maintain collaboration and care for their patients.
The Need to Understand Infection Risk Sources and Pathways to Mitigate HAIs
Data from the CDC indicates that each year, about 1 in 25 U.S. hospital patients are diagnosed with at least one infection related to hospital care alone, and approximately 97,000 Americans die from hospital-related fungal infections each year.
Making Breast Cancer Treatment Less Invasive
Evidence indicates that for patients with low risk and good prognosis, localized treatment with targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT) may be equally as effective as standard radiation, with potentially less damage to normal tissues and organs.
School-Based Healthcare Moves Virtual During COVID-19
Telehealth increasingly is helping school nurses meet students’ physical and mental health needs, both in school and virtually—and lawmakers are recognizing its importance. At Children’s Health in Dallas, our partnership with over 225 schools across the Dallas metro area provides vital access to specialty support for children and teens and guidance around infection control.
Health System-Owned Specialty Pharmacies Gain New Voice
The level of integration varies among health systems. Some health systems have pharmacists embedded in the clinics, while others manage their patients centrally from their operations center. In both scenarios, the documentation of education and patient counseling is captured in the health system’s electronic health record, in which both providers and pharmacists work.
Five Important Questions About Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine
Pfizer’s vaccine consists of genetic material called mRNA encased in tiny particles that shuttle it into our cells. From there, it stimulates the immune system to make antibodies that protect against the virus. A similar strategy is employed in other leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates. If mRNA vaccines can protect against COVID-19 and, presumably, other infectious diseases, it will be a momentous piece of news.
ECRI: Half of Disposable Isolation Gowns Don’t Pass Muster
The alarming results of the test evaluating 34 models of disposable gowns from foreign or non-traditional suppliers prompted ECRI to issue a high-priority hazard alert to warn healthcare organizations about its safety concerns.
Coronavirus: Northwell’s 10-Step Recipe for Addressing Patient Surges
The health system, which features 23 hospitals and 800 ambulatory sites, treated about 20,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the spring surge, says Mark Jarrett, MD, MBA, senior vice president, chief quality officer, and deputy chief medical officer at Northwell.