CDC releases reopening guidelines
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 20 posted two new resources to help states reopen. The first is a 60-page document that includes information on general and healthcare surveillance and continuing guidance on infection control, contact tracing, and testing. It also includes a standardized…
AORN, AHA, AdvaMed issue release re-entry guidance
Editor's Note: The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), American Hospital Association (AHA), and Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) on May 19 released a “Re-entry Guidance for Health Care Facilities and Medical Device Representatives.” The guidance, which builds on the April 17 joint statement by AORN, AHA, American College of…
Study predicts 28 million surgical procedures cancelled worldwide because of COVID-19
Editor's Note More than 28 million elective surgical procedures worldwide will be cancelled or postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study estimates. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, UK, collected data from surgeons in 359 hospitals and 71 countries. The data was then statistically modeled to estimate…
Readying your SPD for a post-COVID world
Editor's Note While responding to demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, perioperative leaders also are busy preparing staff and departments for life after the initial shock subsides. Chief among their preparations are strategies to address the increased demand for surgery because of postponement of elective and nonessential surgical procedures. The sterile…
Provider burnout, fatigue during COVID-19 pandemic
Editor's Note This article from Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas A&M University researchers shares the lessons learned by an interdisciplinary team of ICU healthcare providers and their experiences of occupational fatigue and burnout as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers documented four major areas of stress with the…
CMS releases proposed inpatient payment rule for FY 2021
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 11 released a proposed rule that increases Medicare inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rates by a net of 3.1% in FY 2021, compared to 2020, for acute care hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program that…
AI diagnostic predicts COVID-19 without testing
Editor's Note In this study, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; King’s College, London; and health science company Zoe Global, Accra, Ghana; developed an artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic that can predict whether someone is likely to have COVID-19 based on their symptoms. The researchers analyzed data from 2,618,862 people…
Dr Gawande stepping down as Haven CEO
Editor's Note The May 8 Wall Street Journal reports that Atul Gawande, MD, is stepping away from the day-to-day operations of Haven—the Amazon, JPMorgan, Berkshire Hathaway healthcare venture. Instead Dr Gawande will be chairman of the joint venture so he can focus more on policy and advocacy work, particularly related…
OR leaders chart new territory for resuming elective surgery
Elective surgical procedures that were temporarily suspended in mid-March are now on the table—or soon will be—at some US facilities. The ban, announced on March 18 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), was enacted to free up resources for facilities overwhelmed by surges of COVID-19 patients. On…
Children's hospital revises patient care criteria for COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on all aspects of healthcare delivery worldwide. For children’s hospitals, the crisis has created unique challenges in ensuring patient and provider safety as well as helping to contain the spread of COVID-19 through their communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control…
