Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (ACS CoC) on March 18 announced it has joined a nationwide effort to encourage patients to resume cancer screenings, to prevent more extensive illness or excess deaths. The ACS CoC is urging people to talk with their healthcare providers about…

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Editor's Note Patients who talk with their physicians are more likely to get vaccinated during a pandemic, finds this study of evidence collected during the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic in 2009. In this survey of more than 19,000 people nationwide, researchers from Washington State University, Pullman, and the University of…

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Editor's Note In a Gartner survey of more than 5,000 employees, 29% said they were depressed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly half (49%) of respondents sought help through their companies mental health and well-being programs. The survey also found that 64% of employers have implemented new well-being…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston finds no significant difference in COVID-19 cases in students and staff at schools observing 6-feet and 3-feet social distancing rules. Researchers compared incident cases of COVID-19 in 537,336 students and 99,390 staff in 251…

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Editor's Note In this study, surgical patients reported improved communication when their surgeons wore clear masks rather than standard masks in surgical outpatient clinics. This randomized trial of 200 patients in 15 surgeons’ clinics spanning seven specialties finds that when surgeons wore clear rather than standard masks, the patients rated…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 10 announced a new Quick Safety—“Issue 58: Keeping patients on track with preventative care during pandemic.” The Quick Safety includes safety strategies and actions healthcare organizations can use to encourage their patients not to delay seeking care or treatment. Data show that over…

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Editor's Note This study finds that most risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection in US healthcare workers (HCWs) are outside the workplace. In this analysis of 24,749 volunteer HCWs at four large healthcare systems in three states (ie, Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, Johns Hopkins Medicine and University of Maryland Medical…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 10 announced that it will be returning to unannounced onsite surveys. Beginning March 15, organizations will no longer receive a phone call or email when it has been determined the area is at low enough risk for an accreditation survey team to visit.…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that obesity increases the risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness. Of 148,494 US adults with confirmed COVID-19 treated at 238 hospitals included in the study, 28.3% were overweight and 50.8% were obese. Severely obese adults…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance on March 10 to help nursing homes safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated guidance says nursing homes “should allow responsible indoor visitation…

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