AHA urges EPA to ensure proposed EtO standards don’t disrupt healthcare delivery
Editor's Note In a June 27 letter, the American Hospital Association (AHA) urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to avoid disrupting healthcare delivery through the unintentional fracturing” of the medical device supply chain with its proposed ethylene oxide (EtO) standards. The EPA proposes: reducing EtO emissions by 80% adding new…
The Joint Commission: Refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports available for primary, comprehensive stroke centers
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 28, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports are now available for primary (PSCs) and comprehensive (CSCs) stroke centers. The reports provide updated performance measurement data on quality measures selected for advanced PSC and CSC certification programs, through the fourth quarter of 2022.…
Healthcare use after interventions to improve well-being
Editor's Note This Australian study finds an association between psychosocial interventions to improve well-being and reduced healthcare use. A total of 41 studies and 7,842 participants were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Among the findings: An improvement in healthcare use was associated with social support interventions, but not…
The Joint Commission: New ORYX Accelerate PI, quality measurement, and benchmarks data available
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 28, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports containing data through the fourth quarter of 2021 are now available for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals. The reports come from chart-abstracted and electronic clinical quality measures data reported to The Joint Commission under…
Compliance with CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule linked to financial penalties
Editor's Note This study from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Georgetown University, Washington, DC, finds that hospital compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2021 Price Transparency Rule is increasing since financial penalties were enforced. Data from 4,377 acute care hospitals operating in 2021 and 2022 were…
The Joint Commission starts new voluntary Health Care Equity Certification
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 27, announced that it is starting a new voluntary Health care Equity Certification Program, effective July 1. The advanced certification recognizes hospitals for excellence in their efforts to provide equitable care, treatment, and services and builds on longstanding accreditation requirements that support healthcare…
CDC tracking new COVID-19 variant
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tracking a new COVID-19 Omicron variant, EU.1.1, that is responsible for 1.7% of new cases in the US and up to 8.7% of those in the western regions of Montana, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah, the…
OhioHealth partners to double healthcare graduates, address staff shortages
Editor's Note As staffing remains a top point of concern for healthcare leaders, OhioHealth, Columbus, Ohio, and Columbus State Community College, announced a partnership to invest $120 million into training healthcare professionals in five fields on June 27. The joint venture will double the number of students in nursing, surgical…
Effect of private insurer bundled payment program for total joints on outcomes
Editor's Note This multi-center study led by Humana Inc, Louisville, Kentucky, finds that a bundled payment program offered by a Medicare Advantage insurer for lower extremity joint replacements was associated with reduced spending without changes in quality. A total of 23,034 lower extremity joint replacement surgical episodes (6,355 bundled, 16,679…
APIC announces formation of Health Equity Fund
Editor's Note The Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), on June 26, announced the creation of the APIC Health Equity Fund, which will help underwrite the cost of infection prevention and control (IPC) tools and resources for underserved communities in the US. For the first 3 years, the fund…