Editor's Note With the demand for travel nurses rising significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are proposing measures to control what staffing agencies can charge healthcare facilities that use the temporary staff, the March 17 Kaiser Health News reports. Among 11 states proposing regulations: Missouri is calling for felony…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 16 updated its list of COVID-19 medical device shortages to reflect changes in estimated shortage durations during the public health emergency. These include: Radiological devices General plastic surgery devices Cardiac diagnostic and monitoring products General ICU/hospital products Specimen collection, testing…

Read More

Editor's Note Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on March 15 amended the February 4, 2020, COVID-19 emergency use authorizations for: diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 personal respiratory protective equipment other medical devices including alternative products used as medical devices drug and biological products. These emergency…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on March 8, issued an update on reports of squamous cell carcinoma in the scar tissue (capsule) that forms around breast implants—both saline and silicone as well as textured and smooth. Previously, on September 8, 2022, the FDA informed the public of…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 15, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports are available for primary (PSCs) and comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) to provide updated performance measurement data on quality measures selected for advanced certification programs. The reports contain data through the third quarter of 2022. Dashboards…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente on March 15 announced that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity. The award, now in its 3rd year, recognizes a healthcare organization for an intervention that led to…

Read More

Editor's Note ECRI, on March 13, released its annual Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns, which identifies potential sources of danger for patients and healthcare staff. ECRI also provides detailed steps that organizations can take to prevent adverse incidents. Many of the concerns on the list are exacerbated by ongoing staffing…

Read More

Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian, New York City, and the University of California, Berkeley, finds that family financial disruptions caused by COVID-19 containment policies worsened children’s mental health. This analysis included a nationwide cohort of 6,030 US children aged 10 to…

Read More

Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in February to a seasonally adjusted 16,688,300 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on March 10. That’s up 44,200 since January. Hospital employment also was up by 19,400 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for March was 3.6%, for a…

Read More

Editor's Note Nurse.org’s new 2023 State of Nursing Report, released March 8, finds that although 60% of nurses love being a nurse, 62% are concerned about the future of nursing. Other findings of the report include: Nurses are dealing with slightly less burnout, mental health problems, lack of support, and…

Read More