"Americans will now have electronic access to their health information on their smartphone if they choose," said ONC National Coordinator Don Rucker, MD, during a White House media briefing this morning. "Our rule requires hospitals and doctors to provide software access points—end points, if you will—to their electronic medical record databases so that patients can download these records to their smartphones."

Download checklists provided by CMS and the CDC to review your infectious disease preparedness plans as CMS signals again that it expects hospitals and nursing homes, as well as other healthcare providers, to be prepared for the spread of the latest virus, COVID-19.

CMS ordered its state and regional surveyors to suspend “non-emergency inspections across the country” to allow “inspectors to turn their focus on the most serious health and safety threats like infectious diseases and abuse. This shift in approach will also allow inspectors to focus on addressing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).” This change takes effect immediately and until further notice.

A group of U.S. healthcare experts on Friday stressed the importance of taking an all-hazards approach to responding to the situation

Cannabis use is need-to-know information before prescribing other medications, particularly anesthesia, heart medicines, and drugs processed by the liver.

In times of an emerging disease like the 2019 novel coronavirus that originated in China —and the related public concern—hospitals and other healthcare organizations (HCO) should keep a close watch on their personal protective equipment (PPE).

The primary struggle to contain COVID-19 initially was in China and other countries, but there are concerns about the United States’ ability to respond as the crisis grows here, especially with the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE).