OSHA suspends enforcement of its vaccine mandate

CMS has released final guidance hospitals for compliance with Conditions of Participation when services or buildings are co-located with other healthcare facilities.

According to a new study from JAMA Internal Medicine, an estimated 4.2 million adults over 70 were homebound in 2020. This number was twice what it was in 2019, impacted by the pandemic and the aging baby boomer generation. Healthcare organizations and providers need to encourage an evolving ecosystem of care for these patients, with a focus on home-based solutions.

“I think social isolation has always been something of a challenge for seniors at home,” says Rosemary Kennedy, PhD, RN, MBA, FAAN, chief health informatics officer with Connect America. This social isolation doesn’t just have an emotional cost—it accounts for an estimated $7 billion in additional Medicare spending as a combination of loneliness and medical conditions bring these patients to the ED.

OSHA has suspended enforcement of its COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS) while the requirement is challenged in court, according to a statement on the agency’s ETS information website

An unwanted outcome when moving or lifting patients (see page XYZ) is the risk of falls. Despite best efforts, hundreds of thousands of patients fall in hospitals every year, with 30%–35% sustaining an injury.

Since patient falls are considered a never event, CMS won’t reimburse hospitals for falls and related treatment—meaning facilities find themselves on the hook for an average of $14,056 for a fall with injury and 6.3 extra days of hospital stay.

We spoke with Klaus Nether, executive director of high reliability product delivery at The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, about what the Center has learned about patient falls, and how to address them. This Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity.

Accreditation survey results released by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care’s (ACHC) HFAP brand show that ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) continue to struggle with their credentialing and privileging policies and procedures.

According to the 2021 HFAP Quality Review Report, standard 06.00.03 was one of the two top cited issues in 2020 surveys at ASCs. The standard states, “Members of the medical staff must be legally and professionally qualified for the positions to which they are appointed and for performance of privileges granted. The ASC grants privileges in accordance with recommendations from qualified medical personnel.”