Tag: Patient Safety

CMS releases recommendations on adult elective surgeries, procedures

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 18 released recommendations that all elective surgeries and nonessential medical, surgical, and dental procedures be delayed during the COVID-19 outbreak. As more healthcare providers are asked to assist with the COVID-19 response, it is important that they consider…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 19, 2020
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How COVID-19 affects children key to slowing pandemic

Editor's Note This commentary by Andrea Cruz, MD, MPH, pediatric emergency medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and Steven Zeichner, MD, PhD, head of pediatric infectious diseases University of Virginia Health, Charlottesville, who are associate editors for Pediatrics, notes that it is crucial to understand how the COVID-19 virus affects…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 19, 2020
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Joint Commission suspends regular surveying

Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on March 18 that it is suspending all regular surveying, effective March 16. This is being done to make sure the Joint Commission does not interfere with the work of healthcare organizations to prepare and care for their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 19, 2020
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Implications of COVID-19 clusters in Singapore for surveillance, response measures

Editor's Note As of February 15, there were 36 cases of COVID-19 in Singapore that were linked epidemiologically to three clusters. These three clusters were linked to a tour group from China, a company conference, and a church. Direct or prolonged close contact was reported among the individuals in the…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 18, 2020
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ASCA releases guidance on necessary surgeries for ASCs during COVID-19 pandemic

Editor's Note In consultation with clinical experts and in response to government guidance that hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) postpone elective surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) released a statement March 18 on how and when facilities should proceed with cases that should…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 18, 2020
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Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces, inactivation with biocidal agents

Editor's Note A new novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the disease COVID-19, is the third highly pathogenic human coronavirus that has emerged in the last two decades. The other two are the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respirtory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses. This analysis of 22 studies finds…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 17, 2020
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Nearly 20 healthcare systems canceling, postponing surgeries

Editor's Note Because of the coronavirus outbreak and recommendations from the American College of Surgeons and US Surgeon General, healthcare systems across the US are cancelling or postponing elective surgical procedures, the March 16 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. These steps are being taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus and…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 17, 2020
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Case report: COVID-19 risk to healthcare workers

Editor's Note Of 41 healthcare workers who were exposed to aerosol-generating procedures for at least 10 minutes at a distance of 6.5 feet from a patient with severe pneumonia before he was diagnosed with COVID-19, none contracted the disease. The patient, a middle-aged man with diabetes and hyperlipidemia, was hospitalized…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 16, 2020
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ACS updates recommendations for elective surgical procedures during COVID-19 outbreak

Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on March 13 updated its recommendations for the management of elective surgical procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak. Among the recommendations: Each hospital, healthcare system, and surgeon should: review all scheduled elective procedures with a plan to minimize, postpone, or cancel elective operations,…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 16, 2020
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Is professionalism a priority in your OR?

Professionalism may not be a concept OR leaders consciously think about, but they should. As role models for their staffs, they set the behavior standards for the OR, and failure to insist on professionalism can be damaging. Professionalism is not defined simply by dress or presentation, says David A. Wyatt,…

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By: Judith M. Mathias, MA, RN
March 16, 2020
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