Coronavirus: Drastic Actions Recommended to Avoid Critical Care Overload
There are two primary public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: mitigation and suppression, the report says. Mitigation seeks to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus. Suppression seeks to reverse epidemic growth.
Accrediting Organizations Suspend Most Survey Activities to Focus on COVID-19
The moves were made in response to a CMS announcement on March 5 that it was suspending survey activities except for certain cases, including immediate jeopardy complaints, allegations of abuse and neglect, and infection control concerns, including facilities with potential COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses.
Study: SARS-CoV-2 Can Live for 72 Hours on Plastic, Stainless Steel Surfaces
Researchers from National Institutes of Health (NIH), CDC, UCLA, and Princeton University analyzed the aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 and compared it with SARS-CoV-1, the most closely related coronavirus. The study looked at 10 experimental conditions involving the two viruses in five environmental conditions: Aerosols, plastic, stainless steel, copper, and cardboard.
OSHA Relaxes Fit-Testing Enforcement Under Certain Circumstances
In a memo to OSHA regional administrators and state OSHA-designated offices, the agency said it was working in support of CDC and CMS guidance allowing the use of non-medical respirators when N95 or other such respirators were not available. In its guidance, CMS has also told its surveyors not to validate annual fit testing, if other requirements are met.
See When States Will Face Hospital Bed Capacity Shortages During COVID-19 Outbreak
Array Advisors called for provider organizations to take immediate action to combat the spread of the virus, which has caused significant clinical and financial damage in recent weeks. The company stated that if the virus spreads faster than expected or states do not choose to cancel elective medical procedures, these bed shortage projections might occur sooner than expected.
ECRI Lists Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2020
ECRI has been gathering patient safety event data through its patient safety organization, ECRI PSO, since 2009. “We and our partner PSOs have received more than 3.2 million event reports. This means that the 10 patient safety concerns on this list are very real. These concerns are harming people—sometimes seriously,” the executive brief says.
Coronavirus: 6 Measures to Sustain the Healthcare Workforce
The COVID-19 pandemic is straining healthcare workers worldwide, according to the new journal article, which was published last week by the Journal of the American Medical Association. “The pressure on the global healthcare workforce continues to intensify.
Patient Safety Movement Foundation Sets New Goal of Zero Preventable Deaths by 2030
Established in 2012, the PSMF has offered tools, resources, and guidelines to educate healthcare providers, industry professionals, patients, and families about reducing and eliminating preventable patient deaths.
New Press Ganey Initiative Aims to Reduce Patient Harm by 2025
Through the program, Press Ganey will give participating organizations access to its HPI Press Ganey Patient Safety Organization (PSO) platform and learning forums, along with education and best practices around high reliability and zero harm.
CMS Relaxes Respirator Rules as WHO Declares Pandemic
CMS issued the directive in response to an emergency use authorization (EUA) on March 9 by the CDC and FDA. That EUA offered guidance “expanding the types of facemasks healthcare workers may use in situations involving COVID-19 and other respiratory infections” to include some industrial respirators, according to Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo QSO-20-17-ALL.