Editor's Note Up to one quarter of US adults are willing to forgo potentially life-saving care in an emergency department (ED) to avoid exposure to COVID-19, a survey by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles,  finds. Of 933 adults surveyed nationwide: 158 (16.9%) said they would not seek ED care for…

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Protecting healthcare staff from physical and verbal abuse has always been a part of nurse leaders’ responsibilities, but the increase in workplace violence (WPV) since the start of COVID-19 has made that even more challenging than in the past. In the first article of this two-part series, OR Manager looked…

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Editor's Note New provisional data released July 14 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that more than 93,331 people died from drug overdoes in the US last year. The nearly 30% rise from 2019 was mostly triggered by COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors, treatment inaccessibility, and proliferation of…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s ambulatory surgery center, New York City, finds that remote measurement of patient-reported symptoms after surgery can improve outcomes and reduce postoperative urgent care and emergency department (ED) visits. The researchers developed an electronic platform and alert system, called…

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Editor's Note In this report, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, estimate the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths in Cook County over a 3-year period to highlight changes, before, during, and after the Illinois COVID-19 stay-at-home order. From January 2018 to December 2020, 4,283 overdose fatalities occurred…

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Editor's Note Since emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received reports of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. From December 14, 2020, through January 18, 2021, 9,943,247 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, New York City, finds that children in the New York City metropolitan region at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak had higher rates of perforated appendicitis compared with historical controls. Researchers…

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Editor's Note This study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of current depression, increased or newly initiated substance use, and suicidal thoughts/ideation has been higher for some racial and ethnic minority groups, especially Hispanics. A survey of 1,004 US…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures and social and economic impacts affected the rate of emergency department (ED) visits for patients with mental health, substance abuse, and violence issues.  Total ED visits decreased after…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 1 released its 2021 final rule for the Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS), which expands telehealth services and increases payments for primary care and chronic disease management. The rule also reduces payments for surgeons, emergency physicians, and other…

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