A propofol disposal initiative at Mayo Clinic reduced the number of full propofol bottles in an ICU waste bin to zero, successfully addressing drug diversion at the facility. Initially, 44.1% of propofol bottles in waste bins were full before the intervention. The effort was replicated in other units where propofol use is common — and diversion is tempting.

Drug diversion is an ongoing problem for healthcare organizations. In identifying diverters, leaders are protecting patients and mitigating their institution’s substantial liability risk.

Patients became less safe on March 25, when former registered nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of negligent homicide and sentenced to prison for giving a patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication, medical and nursing groups emphasized.

The Biden administration has launched a major initiative to bolster research on long COVID and improve the health of patients diagnosed with the mysterious collection of ailments.

Although it is more than two years into the pandemic, long COVID is poorly understood, and treatment often focuses on improving specific symptoms like fatigue and shortness of breath. Even definitions of the condition vary.

COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy issues have been clouded by misinformation, leading women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant to decline immunization. The accumulating evidence strongly suggests not only does vaccination safeguard pregnant women against severe infection, it confers protective immunity to the newborn baby.

OSHA has briefly reopened comments and slated a public hearing for April 27 as it moves to finalize its Emergency Temporary Standard to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19.

The CDC is revising its 2007 patient isolation guidelines, going from a ponderous 206-page “textbook” to a simplified “lean” document that healthcare workers can easily access and understand, according to recent discussions at a CDC advisory committee meeting.

Violent incidents have increased in healthcare facilities since the beginning of the pandemic. Among 833 study respondents, those with the highest rates of physical assault in the prior six months were ED security staff, nurses, and clinicians.