About healthcare quality and safety
Biden administration unveils multi-agency patient safety programs, industry commitments “The Biden administration met World Patient Safety Day with a blitz of new programs, panel discussions and commitments from government agencies as well as healthcare industry organizations all focused on reducing harm within healthcare.
At the top of that list is the formation of a cross-agency, public-private National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety.
Headed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the initiative is planning to develop and release a National Healthcare Safety Dashboard to display nationwide progress against preventable patient and workforce harm. The dashboard will reflect all settings of care but will begin with hospitals.”
CDC unveils program to reduce diagnostic errors “The agency partnered with CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to develop the resources, which include tools tailored for hospitals as well as for patients and their families. The tools, outlined in a Sept. 17 news release shared with Becker's, include:
—A guide, titled "The Core Elements of Hospital Diagnostic Excellence Programs," that outlines key action items for hospitals to improve diagnostic safety
—A set of diagnostic excellence assessment tools to support hospitals in implementing the core elements
—A checklist empowering hospitalized patients and their families to ask questions regarding their diagnosis”
About health insurance/insurers
State of Medicare Advantage 2024 A great update on the program.
About pharma
The Science of Biosimilars—Updating Interchangeability A good review of the subject.
About the public’s health
NPR Exclusive: U.S. overdose deaths plummet, saving thousands of lives “National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages…
While many people offered theories about why the drop in deaths is happening at unprecedented speed, most experts agreed that the data doesn't yet provide clear answers.”
About healthcare personnel
The physician shortage isn’t going anywhere “Approximately 35 percent of physician respondents indicate they are likely to leave their current roles in the next five years, of which roughly 60 percent say they are likely to leave clinical practice entirely. This upcoming shift is not just restricted to physicians nearing the traditional retirement age. Of those surveyed who say they are likely to leave, 59 percent of those aged 54 to 64 note that early retirement or leaving the care delivery workforce is their most likely next step, and 13 percent share that they would prefer to move to an administrative role within the care delivery workforce.”
About health technology
Apple Watch sleep apnea detection gets FDA approval “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday published approval for sleep apnea detection on the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Watch Ultra 2. The green light comes four days ahead of the Series 10’s September 20 release date.
The feature, announced at last week’s iPhone 16 event, will arrive as part of the imminent watchOS 11 release. Once enabled, it requires 10 nights of sleep tracking data spread out over a 30-day span to determine whether a user may have the condition. During that time, it also offers insights into nightly sleeping disturbances, utilizing the on-board accelerometer.”
The FDA Calls Them ‘Recalls,’ Yet the Targeted Medical Devices Often Remain in Use An excellent review, whose message is that device “recalls” are not like other product recalls.