CMS is gearing up to resume surveys, starting with closing out cases suspended by the March declaration of a national public health emergency (PHE) because of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. A nine-page Quality & Safety Oversight (QSO) group letter to state and regional CMS survey offices outlines the priorities for state surveyors to begin culling through the backlog of cases.

N95 respirator masks as many as 11 years past their expiration date and used N95 respirator masks treated with ethylene oxide or vaporized hydrogen peroxide maintain their filtration efficiency, new research shows.

The recent moratorium on elective surgeries due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal on hospitals, providers, and provider organizations—especially since those surgeries are often the bread and butter of provider revenue.

According to the Medical Group Management Association, 97% of medical group practices have experienced a negative financial impact directly or indirectly related to COVID-19. On average, these practices report a 55% decrease in revenue and a 60% decrease in patient volume since the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Additionally, the American Hospital Association estimates that between March 1 and June 30, 2020, U.S. hospitals and health systems experienced $202.6 billion in losses, or an average loss of $50.7 billion per month for each of those four months.

Modify this template of an incident command meeting agenda for your organization, to help you keep your hospital incident command system (HICS) planning on track, especially if you are managing multiple campuses.

As the nation continues to discuss use of force by law enforcement, healthcare organizations must have their own discussions on how force is applied on their grounds. There are no simple solutions for responding to and preventing violence in the clinic or hospital. But when facilities do not put the time needed into their security policies, unnecessary harm can befall responders, bystanders, victims, and even the aggressors.

Improving patient safety has always been a priority for hospitals and health systems, but COVID-19, and the possibility of a second surge in a few weeks or months, is bringing new urgency to these efforts. All hospitals must quickly assess their current safety-related processes, identify optimization opportunities, and implement new approaches that foster a safer environment—not just for patients with COVID-19, but for all patients, staff members, and visitors.