CDC: Delay, avoidance of medical care because of COVID-19
Editor's Note This survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the extent to which adults are delaying and avoiding medical care because of concerns about COVID-19. By June 30, an estimated 40.9% of those surveyed (4,978 US adults) had delayed or avoided medical care including urgent…
[FREE WHITEPAPER] Guidelines for Managing Surgical Services During COVID-19
Abstract/Learning Objectives: As perioperative departments around the country are resuming elective surgeries, perioperative leadership, surgeons, and nursing leadership are working to together to plan for and accommodate the large backlog of elective cases that were canceled as a result of COVID-19. In this eBook, Hospital IQ shares 7 guiding tenets…
Hospitals, nursing homes ignore guidelines to separate COVID-19 from other patients
Editor's Note Dozens of nursing homes and hospitals ignored official guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to separate COVID-19 patients from those without the virus, the September 10 Kaiser Health News reports. A Kaiser Health News investigation found that nursing homes and hospitals ignored (CDC) guidelines…
Global trial to test whether MMR vaccine can protect HCWs against COVID-19
Editor's Note Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis is the clinical coordinating center for a new worldwide clinical trial to test whether the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) can protect frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) against COVID-19. The researchers say there are two main reasons why the…
Meta-analysis finds steroids improve survival of critically ill COVID-19 patients
Editor's Note In this international meta-analysis, researchers found that the administration of systemic corticosteroids was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients. The meta-analysis included seven randomized studies from 12 countries that involved 1,703 critically ill COVID-19 patients. Patients had been randomized to receive systemic dexamethasone,…
Joint Commission refreshes Accelerate PI Dashboard Report data
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced September 9 that it has refreshed the Accelerate PI Dashboard Report data for accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and nursing care centers. The reports reflect the most recent and available external data from CMSโ Hospital Compare and Nursing Home Compare websites as well as…
Study: Hydroxychloroquine reduces COVID-19 mortality risk by 30%
Editor's Note This Italian study finds that patients treated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) had a 30% lower in-hospital mortality rate compared to those not receiving this treatment. Researchers examined outcomes of 3,451 patients in 33 COVID-19-focused hospitals throughout Italy. Of these, 2,634 patients received HCQ. Timing of the first dose after…
CDC: Hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine prescribing patterns
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 4 reported on prescribing patterns of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine by provider specialty in the US between January and June 2020. New prescriptions by specialists who do not typically prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine increased from 1,143 in February 2020…
Study: Russian COVID-19 vaccine safe, effective
Editor's Note In this study from Russiaโs Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, researchers found that a heterologous COVID-19 vaccine based on recombinant human adenovirus type 26 (rAD26) and type 5 (rAD5) had a good safety profile over 42 days and induced strong antibody responses in all participants…
CMS issues final inpatient payment rule for FY 2021
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 2 issued its final inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rule, which will: increase IPPS rates by 2.9% in FY 2021 for hospitals that report quality data and are meaningful users of electronic health records, resulting in an increase…