Editor's Note The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum (NQF) announced, on June 12, that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards, through August 7. The annual Awards, which recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations that use innovative approaches to…
Editor's Note Mercy Health, Springfield, Ohio, on June 1, announced that it had formed its own police department and purchased its own police vehicle to help ensure the safety and security of its staff, patients, and visitors. The new department will provide 24-hour police officer coverage, 7 days a week,…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, finds that working the night shift or binge drinking doubled the risk of COVID-19 infection in nurses during the pandemic. The analysis included survey answers of 750 nurses who were members of the American Nurses Association. The…
Editor's Note On April 17, electronic health records (EHR) vendor Epic and Microsoft announced a partnership to train Azure OpenAI on a large collection of information so it can “asynchronously draft responses to patient messages for providers,” Becker’s Health IT May 25 reports. According to Becker's, there are four major…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 24, announced that it is seeking comments on new infection control (IC) requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals on preparedness for high-consequence diseases or special pathogens. These new requirements will replace the current standard IC.01.06.01 on preparing for an influx of potentially…
Editor's Note This Australian study compares the accuracy of monitoring personal protective equipment (PPE) donning and doffing between an artificial intelligent (AI) machine collaborating with a remote buddy support system and an onsite buddy. The researchers conducted a pilot simulation study with 30 procedural scenarios (15 donning and 15 doffing)…
Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners, on May 20, launched the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) to prevent and detect infectious disease threats before they become epidemics or pandemics. The network provides a platform for helping countries and regions improve systems for collecting and analyzing samples,…
Editor's Note This pilot study by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and colleagues finds that a new borescope training model improves sterile processing department (SPD) personnel mastery and retention of complex skills. A total of nine certified SPD personnel were involved in the study. Training focused on borescope visual inspection…
Editor's Note The healthcare industry is the second highest attracting new graduates with bachelor’s degrees, according to the new 2023 Linkedin’s Guide to Kickstarting Your Career, the May 22 Linkedin News reports. The top five industries new graduates are considering, include: Professional services—software engineer, accountant, legal assistant Healthcare—registered nurse, medical…
Editor's Note Cybersecurity remains a top concern and potential hazard for patient data. In February, Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was attacked by a ransomware gang BlackCat, which has ties to Russia, Becker’s Health IT reports. The health system has since notified 627 individuals and will continue to…