CMS Emergency Waivers Now Include Some Testing, Inspections
The blanket waiver was announced April 29 among several updates to previous waivers. While the waivers will help lighten the load somewhat, the most critical and often the most time- and money-consuming of the ITM requirements are not part of the waiver.
Cognitive Overload Among Nurses: Exploring Causes, Risks and Solutions
By Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN, Chief Nursing Officer, Vocera Every year around Nurses Week, May 6 to May 12, I write a CNO Perspective Report in which I examine a topic I think is important to nurse leaders. Last year, the report explored cognitive overload and its impact on nurse well-being and patient safety. … Continued
How Intelligent Document Automation Can Improve Clinical Communications
The easiest way to transfer records between incompatible systems is to generate those records in document format. To send those documents, most providers still resort to using an antiquated piece of technology that is found in almost all medical offices: the fax machine.
Study Puts U.S. COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate at 1.3%
Using GitHub data from the Johns Hopkins Repository and data from The New York Times, the researchers looked at 116 counties in 33 states and found 40,835 confirmed cases and 1,620 confirmed deaths through April 20.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 2 – Communicating With Patients and Families
On episode 2 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Patricia A. McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, vice president of safety programs at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, about communicating with patients and families during a pandemic.
Avoid Lawsuits During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This past month, a nurses union in New York state filed lawsuits against Montefiore Medical Center and Westchester Medical Center due to lack of personal protective equipment and training. Doctors and other medical professionals are also feeling the threat of malpractice lawsuits during the pandemic, and have been lobbying for protection against these lawsuits.
Hospital Visit Declines May Have Bottomed Out
Outpatient hospital visit volumes rose approximately 4% between the weeks of April 5-11 and April 12-18, which was the first increase seen in visit volumes in the time since COVID-19 was labeled a pandemic.
6 Steps for Rural Hospitals to Rise to the Coronavirus Challenge
Margaret Mary Health, which features a 25-bed critical access hospital and two health centers, started planning for the pandemic in early March and admitted its first COVID-19 patient on March 13. At the peak of the rural hospital’s COVID-19 surge, nearly 20 coronavirus patients were admitted.
N95 Respirator Decontamination: OSHA Weighs In
The interim guidance to the agency’s Compliance Safety and Health Officers allows the reuse, in certain circumstances, of filtering facepiece respirators decontaminated using methods that have shown promise in limited research.
Contact-Free Continuous Monitoring
At Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a not-for-profit, 256-bed tertiary medical facility in Elmira, New York, we’ve long used traditional telemetry devices and methods in our four cardiology units to monitor patients’ vital signs. But we also wanted to give this added layer of protection to other hospital patients without incurring the costs of installing telemetry systems.