We live in a 3-D world…

Unlike synchronous telehealth, which basically consists of a two-way, real-time audio-video feed between patient and care provider, asynchronous telehealth doesn’t involve real-time communication, and most often doesn’t include video. Consumers enter information into an online platform at their own time and convenience, usually through a questionnaire, and a care provider accesses that data on the other end then responds with a diagnosis and treatment plan. It can be done by phone or computer and include images and even video, but the key factor is that both patient and provider can access the platform at the time and place of their choosing.

A survey of patient and provider attitudes toward telehealth find that both see the virtual visit as a complementary to the in-person visit, but not as a replacement. And they both certainly know when a virtual visit isn’t working.

Now that hospitals and other healthcare providers have had time to meet the CMS staff COVID-19 vaccination requirements, CMS is easing up on verification.

One of the common themes that’s emerged from our transition into what is presumably going to be a post-COVID world (somehow I still think that we not yet reached the mid-point of the COVID-athon, but perhaps I am being too pessimistic) is the litany of challenges relating to what we’ve required of the physical environment over the past 2-plus years.

As previously reported, The Joint Commission unveiled new and revised workplace violence (WPV) prevention requirements effective January 1, 2022. The Joint Commission issued three new elements of performance (EP) to existing standards and two revised EPs.

We’re continuing to catch up with healthcare security officials on what the new and changed requirements look like in practice. This month, we discuss the topic with William S. Marcisz, JD, CPP, CHPA, president & chief consultant at Strategic Security Management Consulting and past executive director of security, safety, and emergency management at AdventHealth Central Florida.

When a medical error occurs, the investigation should start with why the mistake happened and examine the systems and processes before asking who made the mistake. While there does need to be accountability if standard practices were not followed, healthcare systems must understand what caused the procedural missteps in the first place.

What if surgeons could practice an upcoming, particularly challenging surgery on a realistic model that looks and feels like an actual patient? This type of rehearsal is now a reality using a technique that mimics real human tissue.

“The entire process started with one patient,” says Ahmed Ghazi, MD, FEBU, MHPE, a Rochester, New York–based urologist who spearheaded the technique’s development.

The updated infection control risk assessment (ICRA) tool for construction, renovation, and operations might be longer, but it is more user-friendly and eliminates some of the guesswork from the old version, say consultants and users in the field.

Prudent third-party risk management in healthcare follows a time-tested playbook and hinges on a few key fundamentals that all risk managers can use to assess their organization’s progress. It is also a crucial exercise, as studies show that the industry’s vendor risk landscape involves serious, ongoing challenges.