Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on July 15 announced that in a move to improve information gathering and resource allocation, hospitals will begin sending their COVID-19 related data directly through HHS Protect or TeleTracking rather than submitting it the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention…

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Editor's Note In this review article, researchers from the US, UK, Netherlands, and Australia discuss current evidence on the pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and management of COVID-19. Among their findings: COVID-19 is spread primarily via respiratory droplets during close face-to-face contact. Infection can be spread by asymptomatic, presymptomatic and symptomatic carriers.…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on July 10 reported that health-related workplace absenteeism rates were significantly higher than expected in March and April for some occupational groups in essential critical infrastructure categories. The following significantly exceeded their epidemic thresholds: personal care and services, including childcare…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced July 1 that it has made two sets of standards changes for deemed-status hospitals and critical access hospitals. The first set of changes, which went into effect July 1, was made in response to hospital deeming renewal applications with the Centers for Medicare &…

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Editor's Note The American Hospital Association on June 30 released a report on the financial strain facing hospitals and health systems because of COVID-19, with total losses expected to be at least $323 billion in 2020. The total included $120.5 billion in financial losses that hospitals are predicted to see…

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Editor's Note Harvard Medical School researchers are projecting that primary care practices will lose more than $15 billion by the end of the year. Because of the steep decline in office visits and fee for service payments from March to May, primary care practices are expected to lose more than…

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Editor's Note A new Avalere analysis estimates the cost of COVID-19 hospitalizations could range between $9.6 billion and nearly $17 billion this year, depending on infection and hospitalization trends, the June 23 Fierce Healthcare reports. The analysis considers the cost of hospitalizations in three scenarios: $9.6 billion, if there is…

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Editor's Note As hospitals begin ramping up elective surgical procedures, healthcare leaders face significant challenges, the June 23 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. A market research survey by Lumeon (Boston) found that the top operational concern for healthcare leaders is making sure patients feel safe to schedule and come into hospitals…

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Resuming elective surgical procedures is critical for recovering revenue lost during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and treating patients whose health may have been compromised while awaiting surgery. Timetables and protocols for resuming those procedures tend to differ by facility, but OR leaders nationwide feel that “we’re all…

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Hospitals nationwide have thousands of unique instrument trays that take up valuable space on their shelves. Many trays are cluttered with rarely used instruments that are there “just in case.” The problem can be particularly acute in large health systems. Across Cleveland Clinic’s multiple locations in northeast Ohio, for example,…

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