Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Thursday, November 3, 2022, the CDC posted this Press Release to announce the updated CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain: Pain affects the lives of millions of Americans every day and improving pain care and the lives of patients with pain is a…… Continue reading CDC Releases UPDATED Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory – November 4, 2022 about early, elevated respiratory disease incidence caused by multiple viruses occurring especially among children and placing strain on healthcare systems. Co-circulation of respiratory syncytial virus…… Continue reading Increased Respiratory Virus Activity, Especially Among Children, Early in the 2022-2023 Fall and Winter

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare “45 MILLION people were affected by attacks on the health care sector in 2021. An Increasingly Dangerous Threat Over the past decade, the American public has witnessed increasingly brazen and disruptive attacks on its health care sector that jeopardize sensitive personal information, delay treatment, and ultimately…… Continue reading Cybersecurity is Patient Safety: Policy Options in the Health Care Sector

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Do you know these statistics about workplace stress? Workplace stress has been reported to cause 120,000 deaths in the US each year. Approximately 65% of U.S. workers surveyed have characterized work as being a very significant or somewhat significant source of stress in each year from…… Continue reading Workplace Stress

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare November is C. diff Awareness Month. Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is a germ that causes severe diarrhea, which can be life-threatening. It can affect anyone and is usually associated with recent antibiotic use. CDC estimates that C. diff causes almost half a million infections in the…… Continue reading Spread the Word, Not C. diff

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare President Biden has officially designated November as National Family Caregivers Month, “recognizing the love and sacrifice of more than 50 million Americans providing crucial care and medical assistance to parents, children, siblings, and other loved ones, ensuring their health and dignity.” “Today, far too many Americans…… Continue reading National Family Caregivers Month

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted Transmittal 492 on Friday, October 28, 2022. This 93-page transmittal provides the CY2023 updates to Provider Reimbursement Manual – Part 1 Chapter 22, Determination of Cost of Services to Beneficiaries, specifically to Section 2231, Regional Medicare Swing-Bed-Rates.  The transmittal adds Table 34 to update…… Continue reading CMS Posts CY2023 Medicare Payment Rates for Swing Bed Hospitals

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted QSO-23-02-ALL … Revised Guidance for Staff Vaccination Requirements the afternoon of Wednesday, October 26, 2022. This is a 163-page Memorandum. Be sure to watch for the red ink – there’s a lot of it. CMS is replacing QSO memoranda 22-07-ALL Revised, 22-09-ALL Revised, and…… Continue reading Revised Guidance for Staff Vaccination Requirements

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Please join the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and her leadership team, who will provide an update on CMS’ recent accomplishments and how our cross-cutting initiatives are advancing CMS’ Strategic Plan. CMS serves the public as a trusted partner and steward dedicated…… Continue reading National Stakeholder Call with the CMS Administrator (11/1/22)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare We’re in the last few days of October which means we’re still in Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every October, in recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the federal government and its partners work to educate stakeholders on cybersecurity awareness and how best to protect the privacy and…… Continue reading October 2022 OCR Cybersecurity Newsletter HIPAA Security Rule Security Incident Procedures