News Headlines | AHA supports mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers | The American Hospital Association is supporting mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare personnel. It is also offering hospitals and health systems public service announcements and other resource materials to keep up the push to get more shots into arms. |
HHS extends COVID-19 PHE another 90 days | The 90 days is up on October 18, but could be extended again. HHS has promised to give states at least 60-days notice before lifting the PHE, which allows among other things waivers or flexibility on certain CMS requirements for participating in Medicare. |
Healthcare leaders identify top digital transformation priorities | While the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how huge a role technology can play in making the care process more efficient and convenient, simply revving up patient engagement tactics fall short of satisfying newly empowered patients, according to a recently released survey. Research by digital health company Lumeon identified top digital transformation priorities, as picked by C‑suite leaders at U.S. hospitals. The list includes short- and long-term goals to make care more positive and efficient. |
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Newsletter Articles | The dangers of violence are still here: Realities, risks, and prevention | Violence against healthcare workers still persists, despite many efforts to combat it. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the incidence of violence-related healthcare worker injuries has steadily increased for at least a decade. And in 2018, healthcare and social service workers were five times more likely to experience workplace violence (WPV) than all other workers—comprising 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work. “Based on my own experience with our client base, I believe workplace violence against healthcare workers has continued its upward trend,” says Tom Smith, CHPA, CPP, owner of Healthcare Security Consultants. That said, he notes that some of the restrictions brought on by the 2020 pandemic might have temporarily lowered WPV cases. |
Reasons for prescription non-adherence are complicated | Taking medicine as prescribed is crucial for maintaining health, particularly for patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, or mental health issues. While education and trust are important factors in prescription adherence, Ken Thorpe, PhD, chair of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, says providers often overlook one of the biggest factors—cost. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, six in 10 Americans suffer from some form of chronic illness. A 2019 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of Americans didn’t take their medicine as prescribed at one point that year because of cost. This included patients who skipped doses or didn’t get a refill, cut pills in half, or tried to find over-the-counter alternatives. Overall, the study found that 30% of patients who didn’t take their medicine said their condition got worse as a result. |
Beware these common problems with business occupancies | Update your inspection, testing, and maintenance documentation and check your exit signs when preparing to host life safety surveyors from The Joint Commission (TJC) at your business occupancies. (For more information on the new standards, see page 1.) Effective July 1, there are five new standards with a total of 28 elements of performance (EP), starting at LS.01.05.10. They were announced earlier this year. While TJC always had the option to survey business occupancies, this marks the first formal set of specific standards for those areas. CMS has been pushing TJC and other accreditation organizations for years to get tougher on Life Safety Code® compliance on areas not part of the main hospital facility or campus, say consultants. This includes clinics, laboratories, and other buildings that touch on patient care like laundry rooms or central utility buildings. |
Tips on compliance, querying with National Practitioner Data Bank | The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was created to help hospitals vet physicians and keep problem physicians from traveling from hospital to hospital. Hospitals are required to check the NPDB when they add a new physician to the medical staff. According to its website, the NPDB is a web-based repository of reports containing information on medical malpractice payments and certain adverse actions related to healthcare practitioners, providers, and suppliers. Established by Congress in 1986, it is a workforce tool that prevents practitioners from moving between states without disclosure or discovery of previous damaging performance. |
COVID-19 vaccines: CDC asks hospitals to offer shots at discharge | Include COVID-19 vaccination status as part of your emergency room triage and medical history, and educate clinicians on how to address vaccine hesitancy. The CDC is encouraging hospitals and urgent care centers to step up outreach to vulnerable patient populations by offering COVID-19 vaccinations to patients at discharge from emergency departments (ED). The agency is also asking jurisdictions to allocate portions of their vaccine supplies to hospitals and urgent care centers to carry out the effort. However, jurisdictions will not be provided extra vaccine doses, according to a CDC fact sheet. |
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| Product Spotlight | Compliance with the Conditions of Participation (CoP) is required to meet Medicare and Medicaid hospital regulations. While CMS posts updates to the CoPs on its website, they are often difficult to search and lengthy, not to mention tedious to print. This is where HCPro comes in! We have taken the most recent version of CMS’ CoPs and the corresponding Interpretive Guidelines (IG) and reprinted them in an easy-to-use format to simplify your job. CMS updates the CoPs a few times a year. This new edition contains the most recent CoPs and Survey and Certification memos, which include new requirements on discharge planning, burden reduction, and antibiotic stewardship. | |
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