Editor's Note This study by researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Washington, DC, finds that the COVID-19 pandemic had a differential impact on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) of various types in VA facilities. A total of 128 acute-care and 132 long-term care VA facilities were included in…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 15, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports are available for primary (PSCs) and comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) to provide updated performance measurement data on quality measures selected for advanced certification programs. The reports contain data through the third quarter of 2022. Dashboards…

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Editor's Note In this study, led by the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, researchers developed and validated better surgical specialty-specific multimorbidity definitions based on distinct characteristics of older inpatients undergoing general, orthopedic, or vascular surgery. The researchers used 2016 to 2017 Medicare administrative claims data on patients…

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Editor's Note A recent survey by online platform The Muse finds that Generation Z workers are the most likely to leave a job because of a toxic workplace, even though they have spent the least amount of time in the workplace, the March 14 Benefit News reports. The survey showed…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente on March 15 announced that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity. The award, now in its 3rd year, recognizes a healthcare organization for an intervention that led to…

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Editor's Note Chat GPT-4, the latest version of an artificially intelligent chatbot, shows promising applications in healthcare, as reported by The New York Times on March 14. With greater accuracy and descriptive abilities, the chatbot was recently tested by Anil Gehi, MD, associate professor of medicine and cardiologist at the…

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Editor's Note ECRI, on March 13, released its annual Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns, which identifies potential sources of danger for patients and healthcare staff. ECRI also provides detailed steps that organizations can take to prevent adverse incidents. Many of the concerns on the list are exacerbated by ongoing staffing…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian, New York City, and the University of California, Berkeley, finds that family financial disruptions caused by COVID-19 containment policies worsened children’s mental health. This analysis included a nationwide cohort of 6,030 US children aged 10 to…

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Editor's Note Disrupted sleep rhythms because of the daylight saving time change can throw people off schedule, leading to cumulative sleep loss, the March 9 npr.org reports. Studies have shown there is a higher risk of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, automobile accidents, workplace injuries, and mental health issues…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in February to a seasonally adjusted 16,688,300 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on March 10. That’s up 44,200 since January. Hospital employment also was up by 19,400 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for March was 3.6%, for a…

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