CDC pushing environmental control reminders as respiratory infections tick upward

The CDC is urging hospitals to implement broader source control as COVID-19 cases are spiking across the country along with an uptick in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Influenza is also a concern, especially as schools are back in session.

Hospitals could experience a rise in patient volume in the coming months, especially on the outpatient side, after a decline in the summer.

On September 11, the FDA approved new COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech for patients 12 and older. In an emergency, the vaccines can be given to children ages 6 months to 11 years old. The vaccines target the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.

The impact of medical librarians is well documented. In one experiment, a group of primary care providers had the opportunity to send clinical questions to a rapid-response medical librarian. They received their replies in an average of 14 minutes, and 86% of those replies were described as having a positive impact on care. Two studies indicated patient length of stay was reduced when clinicians requested medical library searches related to a patient’s case.

If I have learned nothing over the course of the last little while, it is that the administration of the risk assessment process in any organization is as close to an essential undertaking as any I can think of (beyond “compliance” as a process).

Airlines and aviation have often been held up as standards for safety, but can what they do apply to hospitals, clinics, labs, and other healthcare organizations? This is Part 2 of our interview with Jeffrey Salvon-Harman, MD, CPE, CPPS, vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and an aviation safety expert.

Sterile processing departments have and will continue to receive a lot of scrutiny during surveys. That is also where hospitals can see a lot of high-risk deficiencies or even a ruling of immediate threat to health or safety.

With the scarcity of many drugs reaching an all-time high, 99% of hospital pharmacists surveyed recently said they were seeing shortages, and a third of those said the shortages were having a critical impact on healthcare.

Getting staff engaged with safety training can be the difference between them remembering how to do something safely and them injuring themselves or others.