Equity is an underpinning consideration in efforts to improve U.S. healthcare, the new president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement says.

Kedar Mate, MD, was named chief executive of the Boston-based nonprofit last month. He is succeeding Derek Feeley, DBA, who led IHI for nearly seven years.

Burnout is taking a significant toll in the healthcare sector. It is estimated that a doctor commits suicide every day. Research indicates that nearly half of physicians nationwide are experiencing burnout symptoms. A study published in October 2018 found burnout increases the odds of physician involvement in patient safety incidents, unprofessionalism, and lower patient satisfaction.

Based on a review of scientific literature, there are four effective methods to decontaminate N95 respirator masks, a recent research article says.

During the coronavirus pandemic, maintaining adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers has been an acute pain point. With the virus primarily spread through respiratory droplets and aerosol particles, N95 masks have been in high demand and limited supply. In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that a prolonged pandemic would require 3.5 billion N95 masks but only 35 million were stocked.

In the last few months, The Joint Commission (TJC) has updated several of its hospital accreditation standards, but there are no real surprises, given that most of the changes are related to last year’s long-awaited revisions to the CMS Conditions of Participation (CoP) on burden reduction and discharge planning.

In general, both CMS and The Joint Commission (TJC) require education for patients as needed about the patient’s particular condition(s). CMS requires certain patient education under medication management and discharge planning Conditions of Participation, while TJC under Provision of Care standard PC.02.03.01 requires hospitals to provide “patient education and training based on each patient’s needs and abilities.”

How coronavirus changed a health system’s virtual care model, and what that means going forward