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After expanding a successful initiative to cut catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) rates, a New Jersey hospitals catheter days and CAUTIs were cut in half.
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In an August 30, 2014 blog post, Rick Sacra, MD, worried about the many people in Liberia who are at risk because of the Ebola tsunami that swept through an already fragile healthcare system.
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In an urgent addition to the Ebola situation, federal public health officials have issued a checklist for hospitals to prepare for incoming cases from the expanding outbreak in West Africa. The six-page detailed checklist issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is available at: http://1.usa.gov/1qjDiC9.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its Ebola infection control guidelines to include a new section on cleaning and disinfection of the patient environment. (See Hospital Infection Control & Prevention Sept. 2014 issue.)
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There have been several efforts by various groups to curb overuse of healthcare treatments in different settings use of antibiotics for uncomplicated ear infections in children, for example, and the use of surgery to correct back problems that might be resolved without it.
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There are a lot of things counted in hospitals, a lot of data collected. Thats why it might seem surprising that until very recently, there was no measure of sepsis as a proportion of hospital mortality.
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Last year, a 1.25% reduction in hospital costs by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fed the quality bonuses at hospitals more than 600 received something for their efforts, while more than 700 lost something for their perceived lack of it. This year, the bonus pool is being funded by a 1.5% decrease in costs, estimated to be some $1.4 billion up for grabs.
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Research institutions sometimes struggle with retaining experienced IRB members as the workload can be significant and there are so many competing duties and projects for these scientists, professors, bioethicists, and other professionals.
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The 21st century IRB office is run by professional-level staff more than in previous years. While 30 years ago an IRB could rely on a long-time employee who had experience without credentials, this model is becoming rare.