Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Ascension Health Care, St Louis, finds that COVID-19 was associated with substantial increases in hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, which were largely attributed to COVID-19 infected patients. A total of 1,417,036 admissions in 69 US hospitals were analyzed before (703,556) and during (713,480) the…

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Editor's Note In this study from Switzerland, regular use of public transportation by healthcare workers (HCWs) was not found to affect the risk for acquiring COVID-19. Of 376 HCWs analyzed, 225 used public transportation. By group comparison, HCWs using public transportation did not acquire a significantly greater percentage of COVID-19…

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Editor's Note A USA Today/Ipsos Poll that was released on February 22 and was conducted between February 9 and February 16 found that almost 1 in 4 healthcare workers (HCWs) report they are likely to leave the healthcare field in the near future, Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The poll surveyed…

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Editor's Note In addition to education required to maintain licensure and certifications, each practitioner privileged through the medical staff process is expected to participate in hospital-sponsored continuing education, The Joint Commission says in a February 16 answer to a frequently asked question (FAQ) on accreditation requirements. The education is based…

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Editor's Note A new report published by KFF-Epic Research found that telehealth still represents a substantial share of healthcare delivery despite its use having decreased somewhat from the high seen at the start of the pandemic, the February 16 Healthcare Purchasing News reports. The research presents data from more than…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs St Louis Health Care System finds that those who have had COVID-19 were 60% more likely to experience mental health problems for up to a year. The analysis involved 153,848 patients who survived the…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, finds that small respiratory particles can remain moist and airborne for a longer time and greater distance than scientists have recognized. The researchers found that mucus shells surrounding respiratory droplets--emitted from the…

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Editor's Note This study by UCLA researchers finds patient experiences with telehealth physician appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic were as positive as traditional face-to-face visits and phone visits, or even more so. The researchers surveyed 58,509 adult patients on their 13,928 primary care and 44,581 specialty physician visits at 197…

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Editor's Note In an analysis published on February 12 by the New England Journal of Medicine, findings indicate that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of healthcare-associated infections and other patient safety complications have been on the rise, Becker’s Hospital Review reports. According to the analysis authors, there…

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Each year, there are more studies raising concerns about infections associated with endoscopic procedures and the techniques used to clean and sterilize or high-level disinfect (HLD) endoscopic devices. In this article, in partnership with Boston Scientific, epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, St Paul,…

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