We’ve all heard the stories: A patient comes down with COVID-19 and recovers, but not completely. Lingering symptoms plague them long after the virus itself is gone. It’s believed that this condition, known as long-haul COVID-19, is becoming a serious problem affecting millions of Americans, and...
PTSD occurs after a person experiences or witnesses a highly stressful or upsetting event. Patients can also develop PTSD secondhand, from close contact with people who’ve also undergone the trauma. That’s particularly true for healthcare providers, who often find themselves working in the...
With voluntary operations and procedures returning, huddle with your surgery and infection prevention teams to review your surgical site infection (SSI) prevention policies and best practices. More than a time to remove any rust, take this as an opportunity to tackle the second most common form...
As the COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the country and around the world, healthcare organizations can now pivot from frontline surge preparation and focus on futureproofing their facilities. While hospitals successfully implemented emergency facility upgrades and stopgap measures to meet...
In March, OSHA issued its Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The updates extend existing OSHA protections for workplace safety whistleblowers, explicitly stating those protections apply to those who report COVID-19 related violations at the...
If a year of COVID-19 could be said to have any positives, one is the immense amount of data the pandemic has generated for the healthcare industry. That data has been both vast and valuable, and resulted from a wide array of resources, including medication management solutions.
Scientists are warning that warmer, wetter weather this year will increase the number of ticks born this year, as well as extend tick season. Bradley T. Truax, MD, principal consultant of the Truax Group, says that healthcare providers need to ensure patients know both how to avoid ticks and...
One hazard to talk to patients about this summer is medication-related sunburn. There is a long list of medicines, such as antibiotics and antihistamines, that can cause photosensitivity as a side effect—making a patient more susceptible to UV light damage. When talking to your patients about...
It happens more than we’d like: Patients require transport from one area to another, be it from their room to an imaging lab or to the ICU, and somewhere along that trek—in a hallway, an elevator—they require emergency intervention. The patient is stabilized and completes their journey, but it’s...
After surviving a global pandemic, will healthcare organizations double down on high reliability principles, or will they decide the costs of becoming a high reliability organization (HRO) exceed the benefits?
Vikki Choate, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ, a healthcare consultant...
