COVID-19: CMS Says Primary Survey Focus Will be on Infection Control Preparedness
The order was sent out late Wednesday in a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group memo, and followed up with two others on guidance for the prevention of COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes, specifically.
Yale New Haven Hospital Sued Over Aging Clinician Assessment Policy
The Late Career Practitioner Policy at Yale New Haven Hospital requires clinicians who are at least 70 years old and seeking reappointment to the medical staff to undergo vision and neuropsychological assessments.
Hospitality Trumps Clinical Outcomes When It Comes To Patient Satisfaction
As lead author of “Patients as Consumers in the Market for Medicine: The Halo Effect of Hospitality,” Young and colleagues analyzed Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services data on patient satisfaction, mortality, and technical medical quality for more than 3,000 general and acute-care hospitals in the United States between 2007 and 2010.
Patient Safety Movement Summit Postponed Due to Coronavirus Concerns
The summit typically features keynote addresses from public figures and patient safety experts, and plenary sessions with healthcare luminaries, and patient advocates, as well as announcements from organizations who have made their own commitments to reach the PSMF’s goal of zero preventable deaths by 2020. This year’s event was to include more information on the PSMF’s plans post-2020.
Prepare Now for COVID-19 to Stick Around
In a blog post on the website of King & Spalding law firm in Austin, healthcare lawyer Catherine Greaves noted that staffing challenges as well as employee education should be among the top concerns during preparations for COVID-19.
Study Finds Many Hospitals Have Insufficient Volumes for High-risk Surgeries
The report, Safety In Numbers: Hospital Performance on Leapfrog’s Surgical Volume Standard Based on Results of the 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, also found that a higher percentage of hospitals met Leapfrog’s minimum volume standards in 2019 than 2018.
We Need Your Input On Patient Safety and Quality
Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by clicking on the link below. The survey results will be compiled in a downloadable report, with highlights published in the next print issue of PSQH coming in May.
Study: Low-Temperature Sterilization of Medical Tools is Problematic
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tested the effectiveness of three low-temperature technologies, often used for plastic tools, against steam sterilization by simulating the impact of proteins and salts left on tools before sterilization.
Survey Highlights Pervasive Drug Diversion Problem in U.S. Hospitals
The survey found that 86% surveyed have met or know someone who has diverted drugs, with another 43% indicating their facility could be at risk of fines, bad publicity, lawsuits, or overdoses because of past or potential drug diversion cases.
Verma Raps Accrediting Organizations’ ‘Glaring Conflict of Interest’
Delivering the opening remarks at the 2020 CMS Quality Conference in Washington, D.C., Verma said her agency is “looking at ways to enhance our oversight of accrediting organizations.”