In its Respiratory Disease Season Outlook, the CDC expects the 2023-2024 season will look similar to last year. Last year’s hospitalizations were higher than experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic, in which severe disease was caused primarily by the influenza virus and the respiratory...
A recent study published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety has found some good news—the number of reported unintended retained surgical items (URSI) has continued to decline since 2019. While this is a positive trend, it’s not the same as saying the risk is gone. The...
When operating on a patient, minimizing infection risks and eliminating harmful distractions are crucial to their safety—which is why excessive door openings can be a real problem, says Brad Truax, MD, a board-certified physician in neurology and internal medicine with over 20...
Though they can’t be seen, there are hundreds of tiny organisms living in blood and other body fluids that can cause disease in humans. These are called “bloodborne pathogens.” Some of these organisms are harmless and can be handled easily by the body’s immune system, but others can cause severe...
If your facility doesn’t already have a sepsis program or wants to revamp its existing program, the release of the CDC’s new hospital sepsis program core elements marks a good place to start. Released on August 24, the seven core elements are aimed at strengthening survival and recovery rates...
Most sharps injuries—84%—occur among healthcare workers, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) confirmed in a recently released analysis. Injuries from a needle or other sharp objects can expose workers to bloodborne pathogens (BBP), such as human immunodeficiency...
Antibiotic-resistance continues to be a challenge for the healthcare industry, as medical and public health professionals look for ways to combat it even as more multiple-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, viruses, and fungi emerge.
The CDC is urging hospitals to implement broader source control as COVID-19 cases are spiking across the country along with an uptick in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Influenza is also a...
On September 11, the FDA approved new COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech for patients 12 and older. In an emergency, the vaccines can be given to children ages 6 months to 11 years old. The vaccines target the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.
Sterile processing departments have and will continue to receive a lot of scrutiny during surveys. That is also where hospitals can see a lot of high-risk deficiencies or even a ruling of immediate threat to health or safety.
