Resuming elective surgical procedures is critical for recovering revenue lost during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and treating patients whose health may have been compromised while awaiting surgery. Timetables and protocols for resuming those procedures tend to differ by facility, but OR leaders nationwide feel that “we’re all…

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Proactive leadership, early preparation, and ongoing planning and communication have helped mitigate COVID-19 threats at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida. As a result, resuming elective surgical cases in early May was a relatively seamless process thanks to process improvements made before the pandemic hit. “We started working on COVID-19…

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Far fewer cases of COVID-19 have been seen in rural areas of the US than in large urban populations. But even healthcare facilities not inundated with COVID-19 patients have sustained revenue losses and disruptions in standard procedures. One major advantage for Heartland Surgery Center in Kearney, Nebraska, was seeing the…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 13 released updated recommendations for COVID-19 testing, including interim testing guidelines for nursing home residents and healthcare personnel. Recommendations also include testing strategies for high-density critical infrastructure workplaces after a COVID-19 case is identified. The consolidated recommendations for…

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Editor's Note This study finds that between March 11 and April 21, nearly 42% fewer patients were admitted to Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, compared with the preceding 6 weeks, including those who had conditions that generally required emergency treatment. The number of patients admitted decreased from 77,624 to 45,155, including…

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Editor's Note This study of spine surgeons around the world found they are experiencing the effects of COVID-19, including canceled procedures, changes in clinical roles, anxiety, and risk of exposure to the disease itself because of insufficient protective equipment. Researchers evaluated survey responses from 902 spine surgeons with membership in…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons on June 3 released new resources to help surgeons and hospitals address patients’ concerns about having surgical procedures that were delayed by COVID-19. The document, “Preparing to have surgery during the time of COVID-19,” includes a patient-surgeon discussion guide with suggested questions patients…

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Editor's Note Patients having surgery after contracting COVID-19 are at greatly increased risk of postoperative death, this study finds. Researchers examined data for 1,128 patients from 235 hospitals in 24 countries. Overall 30-day postoperative mortality was 23.8%. Mortality was high across all subgroups including: elective surgery, 18.9% emergency surgery, 25.6%…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Seema Verma says use of telehealth has grown dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some provisions that were extended temporarily will be made permanent, the June 2 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. During the pandemic, CMS expanded access to telehealth…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on June 1 unveiled enhanced enforcement actions for nursing homes with violations of infection control practices. The enhanced and targeted accountability actions are based on trends in recent data regarding the incidence of COVID-19 in nursing homes and infection control…

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