Study: Better Controls, Not Testing, Crucial to Worker Safety During Pandemic
Certain areas of the country are experiencing an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, while other areas, including the Northeast, have been enjoying a lull in their positive case numbers. However, as colder weather sets in and the population is driven inside, the number of cases is expected to rise as indoor face-to-face interactions increase.
Coronavirus: Nursing Home Study Finds Alarming Shortages of Staff and PPE
Through July, nearly half of the country’s COVID-19 deaths had occurred in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, with 60,000 deaths. The virus also has taken a heavy toll on long-term care healthcare workers, with 760 deaths through July.
Six Tests for Physician Leadership
The consolidation trend will demand strong leadership from physicians at the helm of these evolving models—as well as physician employees who want to drive their practice toward best practices for navigating future challenges.
How Augmented Intelligence and NLP Can Help Researchers Identify Rare Diseases
Sometimes critical information is overlooked, and a rare disease is not diagnosed until all other more common diagnoses have been ruled out. Unfortunately, a late diagnosis can make a substantial—even life-or-death—difference in a patient’s outcome.
Wear a Mask. If Only It Were That Simple.
After analyzing comprehensive data on mask policies, researchers led by Chris Adolph, a professor of political science and statistics, found that having a Republican governor would predict a 30-day delay in recommending mask policies. In a state that is also ideologically conservative, the delay would be closer to 40 days. A state’s death rate or infection rate had a much weaker influence.
5 AMA Resources to Promote Physician Wellbeing
Research published in September 2018 indicated that nearly half of physicians nationwide were experiencing burnout symptoms. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new burdens on physicians, including high mortality among coronavirus patients, and worry over contracting the virus and infecting family members.
HHS Releases Update on Ryuk Ransomware Threat
One health system that was recently attacked was Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS had to temporarily shut down user access to IT applications due to a malware cyberattack last weekend. BleepingComputer has reported the attack was done by the Ryuk ransomware, but UHS has not yet confirmed the source of the attack.
HFAP: Problems Continue With Physical Environment, IC, Quality
In late August, the oldest of the accrediting organizations released its 2020 HFAP Quality Review, highlighting the problems and trends identified by surveyors during on-site visits in 2019 at acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, laboratories, and ambulatory surgery centers.
New 4-Part Plan Proposed to Boost Clinician Wellness, Address Burnout
Burnout is one of the top challenges facing clinicians and other healthcare workers nationwide. In a report published last week by The Physicians Foundation, 30% of more than 2,300 physicians surveyed cited feelings of hopelessness or having no purpose due to changes in their practices related to the coronavirus pandemic. Research published in September 2018 indicates that nearly half of physicians across the country are experiencing burnout symptoms.
Coronavirus: Virtual Hospital at Home Program Used for Low-Acuity Patients
Although there are therapeutics for treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients in the inpatient setting—remdesivir and dexamethasone—there are no therapeutics that have been found effective in treating coronavirus patients in the outpatient setting. Given that limitation, monitoring low-acuity COVID-19 patients at home is a viable option.