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A wave of the "stomach flu" can be like a tsunami of gastrointestinal illness, affecting patients and health care workers alike. It takes vigilant hand hygiene, cleaning, and use of personal protective equipment to control and prevent hospital outbreaks, says Tara MacCannell, PhD, a health care epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.
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Nine years after the Food and Drug Administration approved the first blood test to detect latent tuberculosis infection, hospitals are still struggling to determine how to use the tests or whether to use them at all
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Janine Jagger, PhD, MPH, director of the International Health Care Worker Safety Center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, offered this perspective on the new guideline from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
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Older patients hospitalized for acute care or a critical illness are more likely to experience cognitive decline compared to older adults who are not hospitalized, according to a study in the Feb. 24, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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When research suggests changes in standard medical practice, the public health community expects physicians and hospitals to adopt the new way and help improve patient outcomes.
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On Feb. 17, 2009, the Health Information Technology and Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH) was enacted. On that date, tiered civil monetary penalties were put into place for violations following the enactment, and state attorneys general were given the authority to enforce the act.
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Home health agencies now must register to receive a copy of the Provider Statistical and Reimbursement Report (PS&R), which is used to settle the final or audited cost report. Previously, the PS&R was sent to home health agencies by their Medicare intermediary or Medicare administrative contractor.
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Whether patients are being discharged from the hospital to home, another level of care, or transferred to the care of another health care provider, communication is crucial to ensure a safe discharge or transition, says Hussein Tahan, DNSc, MSN, RN, CNA, executive director, international health services at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
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When patients don't follow their discharge instructions and end up back in the hospital, it may be that they simply don't understand what they were supposed to do at home
