In 2018, the most recent year of final fatality data, the third leading cause of death was preventable deaths from drug overdoses, motor vehicle crashes, and falls. The number of deaths from COVID-19 this year already has surpassed the number of preventable deaths in calendar year 2018.

Get a firm handle on your COVID-19 case data now that a new interim final rule requires the information to be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a Medicare Condition of Participation (CoP). The change means that as soon as the interim rule is posted to the Federal Register—scheduled for September 2, 2020—failures to report the data could result in a condition-level deficiency and impact your ability to bill Medicare.

Your hospital, urgent care center, nursing home, laboratory or other healthcare facility has just survived a hurricane. Or a wildfire. Or a tornado. Or any other disaster. Now you need help with recovery. 

N95 respirator masks have been in limited suppl since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and sterilization is a primary strategy to address shortages of this key personal protection equipment.

N95 respirator masks, which filter at least 95% of 0.3-μm particles, are the gold standard for protection against airborne pathogens such as the novel coronavirus. To conserve supplies of N95 respirator masks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that the masks be used by healthcare workers at highest risk of contracting infection or experiencing complications of infection.

Keep assessing how you triage your COVID-19 and influenza patients as the flu season escalates, and include facilities management as well as clinicians and other staff in the continuing discussion. Managing both kinds of highly contagious respiratory infections will pose unique challenges, predict experts, especially when they occur alongside other emergencies.

Putting aside stereotypes and anecdotes about age and technological competence, experts say that issues like vision and hearing loss can make telemedicine tricky for any patient, but especially older patients. However, there are ways providers can help these patients get the best use out of telemedicine. Also, as a high-risk group for COVID-19, elder patients stand to benefit greatly from telemedicine, as it can limit their potential exposure to the virus.

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