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Issue 18, May 6, 2021

• Tips for Opening a Field Hospital During the Coronavirus Pandemic

  The recent journal article, which was published by Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, features...

• ONC Coordinator Outlines New Vistas for Telehealth, Unblocked Health Records, and Patient ID

  Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP, who holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard...

• Critical Care Nurses' Mental, Physical Health Connected to Preventable Medical Errors

  Nearly two-thirds (60.9%) of the CCNs reported having made medical errors in the past five years...

Issue 17, April 29, 2021

• Treat Coronavirus 'Long Haulers' With Multidisciplinary and Comprehensive Approach

  Many COVID-19 patients have experienced a range of symptoms for weeks or months after the acute...

• Telehealth: How Asynchronous Communication Creates Provider Efficiencies

  At the beginning of 2020, physicians and consumers had not yet fully embraced the concept of...

• In Pandemic's Wake, Healthcare IT Faces New Realities

  New realities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are reshaping healthcare IT in ways that affect...

Issue 16, April 22, 2021

• Infection prevention: Looking to the future while tending to the present

  The challenges facing infection preventionists (IP) were already immense before the COVID-19...

• How physicians can support better technology development

  Healthcare technology innovation is moving faster than ever as technology companies push tremendous...

• Coronavirus pandemic stressors impacting careers of healthcare workers

  The coronavirus pandemic has led many healthcare workers, particularly women with children, to...

Issue 15, April 15, 2021

• FDA says to decrease reuse of devices, CMS removes some blanket waivers

  Be aware that as COVID-19 cases decline and vaccination rates climb, the emergency...

• Preventing opioid overprescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic

  The U.S. has wrestled with the demons of the opioid epidemic for decades, and even a global...

• New survey reveals how hospital supply chains affect nurses, patient safety, and margins

  Of 100 nurses surveyed—50 nurse leaders and 50 frontline nurses—in February, 86% said...

Issue 14, April 8, 2021

• Study shows racial disparity in hospital patient safety

  Differences in the quality of hospitals that Black and White patients access are a driver of...

• How to seize on opportunities to improve safety and patient experience

  There are golden opportunities to improve patient safety and patient experience at healthcare...

• UC Health shares 4 lessons learned from coronavirus pandemic

  By multiple measures, COVID-19 has challenged healthcare providers more than any other public...

Issue 13, April 1, 2021

• Yes, you must open doors to unvaccinated surveyors

  Ready or not, yes, you must let surveyors on site at your hospital or other facilities even if they...

• Full speed ahead: CMS resumes most surveys

  CMS surveyors could be on your doorstep tomorrow if you have faced a complaint in the last two...

• Review patient falls, especially those involving infants, as surveys resume

  The Joint Commission releases its 2020 sentinel event report: patient falls, unintentional...

Issue 12, March 25, 2021

• Hospital service volumes expected to rebound, survey finds

  Although hospital service volumes decreased significantly in 2020, health system leaders expect...

• Coronavirus: Lessons learned From flu vaccination trends

  The coronavirus pandemic has exposed inequities in the U.S. healthcare system, particularly for...

• Improving antimicrobial stewardship: AAAHC publishes new toolkit

  To help combat drug-resistant bacteria, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care...

• 10 steps to becoming a high-reliability hospital from Truman Medical Center

  By the end of the study, Truman reported that its patient outcomes had improved, low-harm errors...

Issue 11, March 18, 2021

• 10 steps to becoming a high-reliability hospital from Truman Medical Center

  By the end of the study, Truman reported that its patient outcomes had improved, low-harm errors...

• Inside the technology protecting healthcare from supply chain cybersecurity attacks

  With cybersecurity risks on the rise at hospitals and health systems, third-party access has...

• What might be in a federal OSHA COVID-19 standard?

  On January 21, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order directing the Occupational...

Issue 10, March 11, 2021

• TJC to begin unannounced survey visits again

  The Joint Commission says it will start unannounced surveys again, as of March 15.

• What you need to know about TJC’s 2021 Survey Activity Guide

  The Joint Commission's updated Survey Activity Guide is finally online. Here are some tips on what...

• NCSA on Cybersecurity: 'Update, Update, Update'

  NCSA executive director Kelvin Coleman recently spoke with HealthLeaders about...

Issue 9, March 4, 2021

• CDC alert: Screen for international travel as Ebola cases increase

  Review your infection control plan for Ebola now that the CDC is recommending that all...

• Rate our newsletters! What do you think about HLSC, HSL, and MEU?

  This is Brian Ward and A.J. Plunkett, editors of Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, Healthcare...

• Experts urge more action, emergency OSHA standard on COVID-19

  Thirteen medical and scientific experts urged the Biden administration to take immediate...

• How to treat coronavirus patients in post-ICU care clinics

  Indiana University Health is using an ambulatory post-ICU care clinic to treat COVID-19 patients...

Issue 8, February 25, 2021

• More and more hospital surveys may be onsite, depending on conditions

  As COVID-19 cases go down, your odds for on onsite reaccreditation survey might go up. While...

• OSHA HazCom updates include labeling, SDS requirements

  On February 16, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed an update to...

• Study: Half of hospitalized coronavirus patients have symptoms 4 months after discharge

  Many coronavirus patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection experience...

Issue 7, February 18, 2021

• OSHA Proposes Revised HazCom Standard to Conform to GHS

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed rules to modify the Hazard...

• When Face-to-Face isn't an option: Exploring the future of telehealth and remote care during COVID-19 and beyond

  This technology has been available for some time, of course, but was not nearly as widely used as...

• 30% of hospitals are noncompliant with CMS price transparency rule

  Unsurprisingly, more hospitals were compliant with the 300 consumer-friendly shoppable services...

Issue 6, February 11, 2021

• CMS updates accrediting organizations on when to pause surveys

  CMS tells AOs they can put surveys on hold, if necessary. But not all AOs may change current...

• Joint Commission issues alert to help nurses, healthcare workers with COVID-19 crisis

  One Iowa nurse quoted in the publication explained in stark terms how the continuing onslaught of...

• How Cedars-Sinai built "COVID Line Team" for busy ICUs

  A volunteer “COVID Line Team” at a Los Angeles–based medical center has boosted...

Issue 5, February 4, 2021

• HHS says it will give 60 days' notice before ending PHE

  HHS says it will give states 60 days’ notice before it officially ends the COVID-19 public...

• Top 10 medical technology hazards of 2021 show impact of pandemic

  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact every aspect of healthcare, and a popular annual list of...

• Solving healthcare's unique cybersecurity risks

  The risks of cyberattacks on hospitals and other healthcare settings was already high pre-pandemic...

Issue 4, January 28, 2021

• Hospitals must prepare as security and privacy concerns increase in 2021

  Last March 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) waived...

• How to run an emergency department social medicine team

  Treating patients with behavioral health issues such as substance abuse and social challenges such...

• Missed cancer screening during coronavirus pandemic raises alarm

  Decreased rates of cancer screening during the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a significant...

Issue 3, January 21, 2021

• CMS puts hospital surveys on limited hold as surge continues

  CMS is putting a general hold on hospital surveys, except for those dealing with immediate jeopardy...

• Adopt a crisis command culture during the coronavirus pandemic

  Across the country, health systems and hospitals have established incident command centers to...

• How to create a safety protocol for emergency department psychiatric patients

  Patients with psychiatric illness can spend lengthy periods of time in emergency departments...

Issue 2, January 14, 2021

• CMS creates web portal for questions about 1135 waivers, PHE

  CMS creates easier way to ask about waivers during the current public health emergency, which has...

• TJC seeks input on new requirements for workplace violence prevention, resuscitative services

  The Joint Commission is asking for feedback on proposed changes to hospital requirements on...

• Coronavirus vaccination: 4 best practices for communicating with patients

  Clinicians need to take a multipronged approach to communicating with their patients about...

Issue 1, January 7, 2021

• Use screening protocols to ensure civil unrest stays out of your hospital

  When civil unrest outside your doors threatens to come inside, be sure staff are trained on...

• AAAHC issues COVID-19 risk prevention guidelines

  Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Accreditation...

• How patient matching can help eliminate COVID-19 disparities in care

  Missing contact information on COVID-19 laboratory results prevents individuals with positive test...