Articles Tagged With: pandemic
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Workplace Violence on the Rise; COVID-19 Partly to Blame
Always a challenging problem, workplace violence in healthcare settings has worsened recently as the many stresses of the pandemic push staff, managers, patients, and family members to the breaking point. Risk managers should review their workplace violence policies to ensure they clearly define workplace violence to include bullying, intimidation, and harassment. -
Contraceptive Visits Declined in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Using a nationwide sample of insurance claims, researchers found that large declines occurred in contraceptive visits in the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020 compared to May 2019). Although visit numbers improved over time, they remained below pre-pandemic levels through the end of 2020.
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Screening Ineffective for Identifying HCWs with Respiratory Illness
Ubiquitous employee temperature screening and symptom questions upon entry during the pandemic have not yielded much success in identifying sick healthcare workers and reducing the long-standing problem of presenteeism. -
COVID-19 Vaccination: Science, the Antidote for Misinformation
There have been several different attempts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, including offering monetary or other benefits for getting vaccinated. Some companies (including healthcare systems) have moved to mandating vaccination as a term of employment. Some do not think mandates are the most effective way to motivate vaccine-hesitant persons to make the choice, but instead think laying out a logical approach to vaccination that addresses the most common concerns and misinformation is the best path forward. This review addresses these concerns and misinformation.
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Cyberattacks Increasing Since Pandemic Began
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the healthcare industry has seen a significant rise in cyberattacks. The combination of the pandemic’s effects — crowded facilities, expanded telehealth usage, exhausted workers — with more reliance on medical devices has left the industry vulnerable to cybercriminals. -
Infection Preventionists Experiencing Burnout, Moral Injury Amid Pandemic
Infection preventionists (IPs) are suffering along with their coworkers as an epidemic of burnout and job turnover roils the healthcare system amid an ongoing pandemic. According to a survey in press by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, 70% of IPs meet the criteria for “high stress” and 65% show symptoms of burnout.
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Post-COVID Could Bring Surge in Med Mal Cases
The COVID-19 pandemic still has many hospitals and healthcare facilities straining to maintain anything like normal operations. But that pressure will eventually ease, and more patients will return for routine care and elective surgeries. Some risk managers and healthcare leaders worry this will prompt an increase in medical malpractice cases. -
Contemplating the Next Pandemic
We have heard much about the inevitable “next pandemic” as viruses move and mutate through animals until they become infectious in humans. An example of this was published recently, revealing how an avian flu virus caused fatal infections in swans, seals, and a fox, a “terrestrial mammal” not usually vulnerable to such a virus.
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The Return of Flu: Signs Point to Possible Severe Season
A possible severe influenza season is on the horizon, in part because COVID-19 shutdowns and precautions led to a historically low flu season in 2019-2020, said Rochelle Walensky, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Delta Variant Spreads Exponentially in United States with Millions Unvaccinated
The delta variant of COVID-19 has spread exponentially in the United States, with 96% of counties reporting high (90%) or substantial (6%) transmission as of Oct. 8, 2021.