Articles Tagged With: COVID-19
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Crisis Changes Priorities — and Possibly Clinical Practices
There is a tipping point for any emergency department (ED) when the normal standard of care is no longer possible. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, some EDs are coming close to reaching it.
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ED Care Different During COVID-19; So Is the Legal Standard of Care
Liability for emergency department providers during the COVID-19 pandemic is different than normal times. It changes priorities somewhat. Care is geared more toward the public’s best interest, rather than doing the most good for one individual.
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Plaintiff Allegation: ‘I Should Have Been Tested’
Thousands of people have presented to emergency departments (EDs) with symptoms consistent with coronavirus. Not all have been tested for various reasons. Of those who were tested, some were discharged from the ED and never received the results. Of that group, some will die.
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Malpractice Risks During COVID-19: ‘Really Enormous’ for ED Providers
Emergency department (ED) providers, overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and at risk for contracting the virus, also face potential legal exposure. Many emergency physicians (EPs), ED nurses, and hospitals are stretching beyond a breaking point. What it all means for ED malpractice claims remains to be seen.
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Palliative Care Professionals Say Capacity Must Be Expanded
Thousands of people with serious illness from COVID-19 need palliative care at a time when this typically scarce resource is stretched thinner than ever before. Palliative care professionals held a webinar in the early days of the outbreak in New York City to discuss how their knowledge and resources could be used to help the many people in need.
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Telehealth Intervention Provides Solutions for Era of Social Distancing
A recent study revealed how healthcare organizations can design a telehealth pilot program for elderly and at-risk populations with long-term health conditions. Researchers found that using the Model for Developing Complex Interventions in Nursing, healthcare providers could design a multifaceted telehealth intervention to minimize reinstitutionalization of people with multiple chronic conditions.
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COVID-19 Devastates At-Risk Populations
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have a devastating effect on people with chronic diseases or who are immunosuppressed, are older, or obese. In other words, the people most at risk of serious illness from the disease are the same people case managers help each day. Case managers should focus more on remote case management, taking the pandemic into account as they contact and monitor patients.
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Telehealth Requirements Affected, DEA Allows Prescribing Narcotics
CMS is waiving the “eligible originating site” requirement for telehealth services rendered on or after March 6, 2020, and allowing telehealth services provided in all care settings, including a patient’s home.
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States Ease Licensing and Credentialing; Use Caution
Many states have lifted some restrictions on clinician licensing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing hospitals to call on more available professionals to handle the increased patient load. Although the relaxed rules are welcomed in the face of the crisis, peer review and compliance leaders should proceed with some caution.
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Pandemic Quality Reporting Eased, But Consider Benefits of Sending Data
Hospital quality leaders already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic welcomed the decision to delay reporting deadlines for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System and not require reporting or use data from the initial pandemic period for Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs for future payment years. However, there are important issues to consider as hospitals move forward and regroup in the post-pandemic months.