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CDC Director Steps Down
After conceding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made mistakes and errors in the pandemic response — then launched an ambitious effort to reinvent the agency — Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, has announced she will resign at the end of June 2023.
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Project Firstline: Creating a Culture of Shared Responsibility
About three years into an experiment to teach infection control basics to healthcare workers in short snippets directly online, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doubling down on Project Firstline as key preparation for the next pandemic.
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EPA Ethylene Oxide Reg Would Affect Hospitals
Citing the risk of cancer to healthcare workers, employees of commercial sterilizers, and the neighborhoods that surround the facilities, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed regulations to reduce use and prevent exposures to ethylene oxide gas sterilant.
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SHEA 2023: C. auris Spreads Across Healthcare Continuum
The first cluster of pediatric patients with Candida auris and the ability of the emerging fungal pathogen to spread rapidly across the healthcare continuum were revealed in outbreak reports at the recent conference of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
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SHEA 2023: Pandemic Past Must Inform the Future
Part post-mortem, part vision quest, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2023 meeting largely was a look at the pandemic past and what beasts are yet to come.
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Email Retention Requirements for HIPAA Often Misunderstood
HIPAA requires that certain emails and other electronic communications be retained for a set period, but covered entities often misunderstand exactly what must be saved and for how long. The Security Rule requires healthcare organizations and health plans to retain electronic communications containing HIPAA policies and procedures for at least six years.
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OCR’s Report to Congress Shows Increase in Complaints
The Office for Civil Rights’ annual report to Congress showed “significant increases” in HIPAA complaints — 34,077 new complaints in 2021, a 25% increase from 2020. Complaints increased 39% from 2017 to 2021.
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Breaches Sometimes Kept Secret, but Decision Is Highly Dangerous
Cybersecurity professionals often are told to keep breaches confidential, according to a recent survey that suggests healthcare organizations may be risking serious consequences for not reporting the improper loss of protected health information controlled by HIPAA.
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Catastrophic Birth Injury Results in $7.75 Million Award and Insurance Litigation
This case provides lessons concerning aspects of malpractice litigation that do not focus on challenging the actions of the care providers. Just as providers owe duties to their patients, insurance providers have their own set of duties and obligations that are owed to their insureds. A failure to abide by those duties may subject the insurer to liability from their insured, as resulted in this case.
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Misdiagnosis Leads to Premature Emergency Delivery, Severe Brain Damage, and $34 Million Verdict
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is one of the most — if not the most — common causes of medical malpractice claims. A failure to timely diagnose a condition may render the subsequent treatment ineffective or may preclude any treatment.