CDC: 7-day moving average of COVID-19 cases drops below 50K
Editor's Note The 7-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in the US, a key metric for gauging the severity of the disease, dropped below 50,000 on August 18 for the first time since early July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. On August 19, the CDC…
Public health implications of chronic hospital nurse understaffing in COVID-19 era
Editor's Note This study by noted nurse researcher Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, finds that hospital nurses were burned out and working in understaffed conditions in the weeks preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, posing risks to the public’s health. The…
COVID-19 linked to dangerous lower extremity arterial thrombosis
Editor's Note This study from researchers at the Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, finds that COVID-19 is associated with large blood clots in the lower extremities and a significantly higher rate of amputation and death. In March and April 2020, 16 COVID-19-positive patients had…
ECRI Institute, ISMP launch new Patient Safety Organization
Editor's Note In an August 17 news release, the ECRI Institute and its affiliate, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), announced that they had launched a new Patient Safety Organization (PSO). The PSO is an important step in making medication, medical devices, and healthcare practices safer for patients across…
Convalescent plasma treatment of COVID-19 patients decreases mortality
Editor's Note This interim analysis from the eight-hospital Houston Methodist system showed a significant reduction in 28-day mortality in COVID-19 patients transfused with convalescent plasma within 72 hours of admission. Of 316 transfused patients, 136 had 28-day outcomes and were matched to 251 nontransfused control COVID-19 patients. Compared with patients…
Joint Commission releases sentinel event stats for first half of 2020
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 12 released its sentinel event statistics for the first half of 2020. From January 1 through June 30, the Joint Commission reviewed 437 sentinel events. The most frequently reported events were in the following categories: Care management, 165 Surgical or invasive procedures, 131…
Prevalence of COVID-19 infection in New York State HCWs
Editor's Note This study of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a tertiary New York State hospital finds that the rate of COVID-19 infection in HCWs is lower than what has been reported for the general public in the region. Of 3,046 HCWs, 1,699 had antibody testing, 617 had RT-PCR testing, and…
NIH harnesses power of AI for COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment
Editor's Note The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on August 5 announced the launch of the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center, which will create new tools using artificial intelligence (AI) and medical imaging to diagnose and personalize therapies for COVID-19 patients. The Center will build a large repository of…
Joint Commission updates Patient Blood Management Certification program
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 5 announced that it has approved new and revised requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals certified under the Patient Blood Management program that will go into effect January 1, 2021. The certification requirements have been updated to align with the third edition…
CMS releases 2021 proposed payment rule for ASCs, HOPDs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 4 released the 2021 proposed payment rule for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). Among the proposals in the rule: CMS proposes to expand the number of procedures that Medicare would pay for when performed…
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