Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 24, announced that it is seeking comments on new infection control (IC) requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals on preparedness for high-consequence diseases or special pathogens. These new requirements will replace the current standard IC.01.06.01 on preparing for an influx of potentially…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 24, announced that it was eliminating the term licensed independent practitioner from its Ambulatory Health Care and Office-Based Surgery accreditation programs, beginning August 27. The revisions are consistent with terminology used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Conditions for Coverage and…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 22, identified the recall by ICU Medical of replacement batteries for its Plum 360, Plum A+, and Plum A+3 infusions systems as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because a manufacturing defect substantially diminished how long the…

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The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has revised the ANSI/AAMI PB70 Liquid barrier performance and classification of protective apparel and drapes intended for use in healthcare facilities. This revised standard provides healthcare professionals with a better understanding of the barrier protection properties of available protective apparel. The…

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Editor's Note This study from the Mayo Clinic finds that perioperative COVID-19 precautions did not significantly reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs). The analysis included 29,904 patients who had colorectal, hysterectomy, hip, and knee prosthesis procedures at the Mayo Clinic’s multicenter institution between January 1, 2018 and December…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 11, finalized its recommendations for assessing blood donor eligibility, which uses individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV. The questions will be the same for all donors, regardless of sexual orientation, sex, or gender. The new policy…

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Editor's Note Cybersecurity remains a top concern and potential hazard for patient data. In February, Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was attacked by a ransomware gang BlackCat, which has ties to Russia, Becker’s Health IT reports. The health system has since notified 627 individuals and will continue to…

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Editor's Note Because of the rising incidence of violence in healthcare settings, nearly 40 states have laws that establish or strengthen penalties for assaults on healthcare workers, and 29 more have approved or are working on similar laws, the May 15 KFF Health News reports. Some laws would allow healthcare…

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Editor's Note Five of dozens of defendants charged in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in an illegal licensing scheme for aspiring nurses have plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, according to a May 15 news release from the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida. All…

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Editor's Note According to a May 14 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is continuing with the persistent, systemic problems that impaired its ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other public health crises, such as H1N1 influenza, Zika,…

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