Editor’s Note Seasonal flu cases are spiking across the country, according to data published December 15 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   Although the surge is nationwide, activity is highest in the southeast, south-central, and west coast regions. As a result, weekly flu hospital admissions are…

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Editor's Note Starting January 1, healthcare organizations must consider an expanded timeframe and range of care services when reporting patient suicide as a sentinel event to The Joint Commission. According to the December 13 announcement of the change to the organization’s Sentinel Event Policy, the revised definition “better reflects current…

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Editor's Note A new wearable monitoring device system from researchers at the University of Arizona aims to make digital health access more equitable. These research findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on December 4.  The new device can reportedly send health data up to…

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Editor's Note In California, 20% of patients who have died were still being shown as alive with a serious illness in their medical records, leading to wasteful outreach and strain on hospital workers’ time, MedicalXpress December 4 reports. The findings were originally published in JAMA Internal Medicine.  Due to a…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 3, announced the launch of its new Health Care Equity Certification Resource Center, which provides practical strategies for meeting the new certification program’s standards and elements of performance. Resources, such as tools, templates, and guides, are organized in the center by certification domains…

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