Editor's Note In response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers (HCWs), The Joint Commission has approved a new Infection Prevention and Control (IC) Standard IC.02.04.02 and new elements of performance, the regulator announced on April 27. The new…

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Editor's Note In a letter to healthcare providers published on April 27, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted it is evaluating the potential risk of airway obstruction when using silicone-based electromyogram (EMG) endotracheal tubes (Medtronic NIM Standard Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube and Medtronic NIM Contact Reinforced EMG Endotracheal…

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Editor's Note In a survey of 100 health system executives conducted by Sage Growth Partners in February 2022 and published in Panda Health’s Hospital Digital Health Technology Report: 2022, more than 90% of the health systems surveyed said “a strong digital health strategy is essential to improving clinical outcomes, boosting…

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Editor's Note In an April 28 news release, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced new measures that will allow American consumers to more easily find affordable healthcare coverage on HealthCare.gov during the next Open Enrollment Period, which will…

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Editor's Note Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said in an April 26 interview with PBS NewsHour that "we are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase,"…

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Editor's Note In this study, titled “Clinician Distress and Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections [RTIs]: A Retrospective Cohort Study” and published in the May 2022 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, the researchers examined the association between clinician distress and the inappropriate…

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Editor's Note According to a Kaufman Hall study, titled "Analysis: California Hospitals Endured Significant Financial Strain in 2021," published on April 19, and commissioned by the California Hospital Association, California hospitals collectively lost nearly $6 billion, “roughly three times the $2.2 billion that had been projected,” in 2021 and $14…

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Editor's Note According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, titled “Seroprevalence of Infection-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies — United States, September 2021–February 2022” and published on April 26, almost 60% of people living in the US, including 75% of children and adolescents, has contracted COVID-19, Becker’s Hospital Review…

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Editor's Note The 2022 Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) Conference & Expo kicks off today in Dallas, Texas, and OR Manager is present on the show floor. Come visit the OR Manager booth, #904! We will be distributing complimentary copies of the April 2022 issue of OR Manager, which includes…

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Editor's Note While hospitals and health systems may be willing to invest in spine robots, many of them are reconsidering the expense due to the increasing pace of outpatient surgery migration, Becker’s ASC Review April 26 reports. This is causing spine robot companies to pivot their strategy to become more…

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