CMS on differences with The Joint Commission, plus a look at Virtual Reality medical training at Vanderbilt University

When trying to procure necessary supplies during a disaster or emergency, be aware of potential fraud, document all your contracting activities, and ensure staff are trained and up-to-date on your facility’s contracting policies.

These are just some of the best practices and recommendations offered in a Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General report released June 2, “Special Report on Best Practices and Lessons Learned for DoD Contracting Officials in the Pandemic Environment.”

As the COVID-19 surge continues through its second wave and collides with influenza season as well as hurricanes, wildfires, or whatever natural disasters the year still has in store, supply experts have a big request: Only order what your facility needs.

It’s true that at the start of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year, personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gowns, as well as ventilators and many medications connected to using ventilators and treating COVID-19 symptoms, were in short supply.

But the supply chain has regained its balance, says Nicolette A. Louis­saint, PhD, executive director of Healthcare Ready, a nonprofit formed after Hurricane Katrina to strengthen public- and private-sector access to medications and other healthcare supplies.

The coronavirus public health emergency will have a long-lasting impact on the finances and care delivery processes of hospitals across the United States. The pandemic has also emphasized the significance of clinical quality, and patient and staff safety, as well as adherence to best practices.

With respiratory distress common among seriously ill coronavirus patients, respiratory therapists are at the tip of the spear on the pandemic frontline.

Respiratory therapists have been in short supply during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A study published in 2015 identified the supply of ventilators and the staff to manage them as a weak point in the U.S. healthcare sector’s capability to function effectively during a public health crisis.

Given The Joint Commission’s (TJC) more than 60-year presence in hospital accreditation, Inside Accreditation and Quality went to CMS for some clarification on its concerns that led to only a two-year renewal for TJC as an accrediting organization.

Those concerns included a statement that “some of these concerns stem from the level of detail TJC provides in the daily briefings it provides to facilities.” IAQ asked whether that meant too much or too little detail.

Here is the response from CMS:

In an announcement that The Joint Commission (TJC) has been approved for two years as a Medicare accrediting organization (AO), CMS outlines what it sees as the differences between TJC standards and its own requirements.

How the academic medical center designed a virtual reality course for point-of-care ultrasound training

Teaching a hands-on process using virtual reality (VR) may sound counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what Vanderbilt University’s medical school and eLearning Brothers have done. Using the latter’s CenarioVR® technology, the two created and designed an award-winning VR training course on point-of-care (POC) ultrasound.

The program is a 14-week course that combines exam-based weekly modules with 16 hours of hands-on training. It can be accessed via smartphone, computer, or VR headset, and gives users a 360° view of the patient room while the instructor walks them through the lesson. The VR program has meant that Vanderbilt was able to avoid buying five additional ultrasound training machines, saving them $425,000 in new equipment and putting less wear and tear on their existing machines.

The project was a collaborative effort between John Blackmon, the chief technology officer for eLearning Brothers, Jeff S. Gordon, PhD, a professor of educational informatics at Vanderbilt, and Susanna Rudy, DNP, MSN, MFS, AG-ACNP, FNP-BC, ENP, CCRN, an instructor at Vanderbilt’s nurse practitioner program who created the POC course used in the VR training.