Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association, on April 20, announced the launch of a Comprehensive Heart Attack Center certification program, which recognizes hospitals providing care to the most complex and critically ill patients. To be certified, hospitals must provide 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week on-site coverage for primary percutaneous…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Chicago finds that unvaccinated adults with prior COVID-19 infection had an 85% lower risk of acquiring COVID-19 again than unvaccinated adults without prior COVID-19. The researchers analyzed data from patients tested for COVID-19 at 1,300 sites of care in 6 western states…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum, on April 20, announced the 2021 recipients of the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards, which recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and healthcare quality. The awardees are: Individual Achievement Awardee: Hardeep Singh, MD,…

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Editor's Note In an April 20 news release, ECRI announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art, global headquarters and medical device evaluation laboratory, which is on a 24-acre campus in the Philadelphia region. The headquarters also includes an environmental lab, an accident and forensic investigation lab, high-tech meeting rooms, and…

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Editor's Note This German study finds that bacterial contamination of healthcare workers’ (HCWs’) smartphones can be a source of cross-contamination, and cleaning intensity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 295 HCWs (99 in 2012 and 196 in 2021) from 26 wards comprising 19 different specialties included in the analysis, bacterial…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 30, announced the availability of new Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and nursing care centers (NCCs). The Reports provide updated performance measurement data on a select subset of quality measures. The ASC reports contain data through the fourth quarter…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 30, announced that it had contracted with Dynamic Health IT to help develop a new Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) and electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) engine. The DDSP will facilitate submission of quality measurement data directly to The Joint Commission from approximately…

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Editor's Note In this meta-analysis, researchers from Germany and Australia find that music-making and listening interventions are associated with positive changes in health-related quality of life. The systematic review and meta-analysis included 779 participants from 26 studies. Music interventions (ie, music listening, music therapy, singing, and gospel music) were linked…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 23 announced that it is developing new and revised requirements on reducing healthcare disparities for its accreditation programs. A field review is open and seeking comments on the proposed new Leadership (LD) standard LD.04.03.08 as well as revisions to the Record of Care,…

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Editor's Note This study from Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, finds that a multicomponent safety intervention, consisting of patient education, home medication review, and hazard identification in the home environment, was not associated with reductions in falls during the first year after an elective inpatient surgical procedure, but…

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