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Surgery Centers, Experts Search for Answers on Reopening
As COVID-19 spread across the United States, some surgery centers stopped most elective surgeries, sometimes repurposing their space to take emergent cases or turning operating rooms into critical care units to accept overflow from nearby hospitals. Others did what they could to survive during the pandemic. Now that many places have gone through a surge of COVID-19 cases and some governors have begun to lift stay-at-home orders, the question for surgery center leadership is: When and how should we resume normal operations?
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Nurses, Case Managers Can Build Resilience in Difficult Times
Case management and nursing were stressful jobs before the pandemic. Now, hospital nurses are facing unimagined stressors, all setting the stage for possible emotional crises and moral distress.
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Lessons Learned: Notes from a New York COVID-19 Hotspot
In February, New York’s first COVID-19 cases were treated in Westchester County, a short train ride from Manhattan. With an analyst’s help, Westchester Medical Center worked bed optimization for the medical center’s 654 beds that included three COVID-19 patient care units: high-need intensive care unit beds, middle-need beds, and lower-need beds.
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Discharging Elderly Patients Presents Challenges in the Age of COVID-19
COVID-19 has brought new challenges to discharge planning for elderly and seriously ill patients. Long-term care facilities still are accepting patients, but they will be in quarantine the first 14 days. The case manager should consider the patient’s needs before transfer to the facility.
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Nurses, Case Managers Describe Life on the Front Lines of COVID-19
Case managers and other nurses are coping with changes in operations, home life, and job descriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the more striking changes for case managers is the physical separation between them, their patients, and patients’ families.
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Pandemic Forces Changes in Health Systems, Including Case Management
Hospital case management changed dramatically in the spring. Health systems began implementing far-reaching infection prevention measures and changed some operations to accommodate expected surges in patients with COVID-19. Social distancing is one of the most important ways to protect hospitals and public health, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
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CMS Issues Waivers to Help Case Managers, Hospitals Cope with COVID-19
New York City struggled, as did other hotspots. Patient care units sprung up in public spaces. Busloads of out-of-state nurses, medical residents, and retired doctors, nurses, and therapists pitched in. To expedite patient care, insurance companies waived copays and deductibles. Discharge planning regulations were relaxed. Paperwork took a back seat, as all efforts were directed toward patient care. All this was due to the declaration of a national emergency, which gave impetus to changes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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Poll: COVID-19 Leads Some Americans to Delay Medical Care
Nearly one-third of respondents said they are avoiding care over fears of contracting the virus.
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Tips for HIPAA Compliance During a Pandemic
The pandemic response may create unique Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance risks. Time, staffing, and focus are at a premium, but staying cognizant of patients’ privacy remains important.
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COVID-19 Changes HIPAA Compliance, But Caution Necessary
The Office for Civil Rights has issued waivers and notices of enforcement discretion for several issues related to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance, but healthcare organizations still must be careful to comply with the privacy law even during the pandemic.