Are Hospitals Ready for a Second Wave of COVID?

Posted on July 22, 2020January 24, 2023 by Leo Bogee

PSQH Editor John Palmer recently interviewed Stacy Pur, Vice President of Product Development at VigiLanz, for a Q&A on clinical surveillance, patient safety, and COVID-19. Here’s an excerpt:

With a potential second wave of COVID-19 on the horizon for the fall, combined with the regular flu season, real-time surveillance alerts may be the key to infection prevention as well as mitigating and controlling future on-premises infections.

PSQH: If clinical surveillance is so important, why do only 29% of surveyed hospitals use it? What would improve the rate of surveillance usage?

You can read Stacy’s response, and more of the Q&A, on PSQH and HealthLeaders.

Hospital Patient Safety Report: Opioid Stewardship

Posted on July 21, 2020November 12, 2020 by Leo Bogee

To better understand the state of hospital patient safety and the biggest opportunities for improvement, VigiLanz commissioned Sage Growth Partners, a healthcare consultancy, to conduct an independent survey of 100 hospital and health system leaders in February 2020.

View the full report here.

This infographic highlights some the most noteworthy opioid stewardship-related survey findings. The infographic reveals:

How hospital leaders rate their opioid stewardship efforts
Where opioid stewardship falls on their list of top safety priorities
How they are using technology to support their efforts

DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHIC

Three Things Every Hospital Should Be Doing Now to Improve Patient Safety

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Leo Bogee

by David Goldsteen, MD, VigiLanz CEO

Improving patient safety has always been a priority for hospitals and health systems, but COVID-19, and the possibility of a second surge in a few weeks or months, is bringing new urgency to these efforts. All hospitals must quickly assess their current safety-related processes, identify optimization opportunities, and implement new approaches that foster a safer environment—not just for patients with COVID-19, but for all patients, staff members, and visitors.

You can read more of this article on PSQH.

For more on VigiLanz’s COVID-19 rules and solutions, click here.

Second wave preparedness: Infection preventionists and pharmacy leaders discuss safety & COVID-19

Posted on July 13, 2020April 1, 2022 by Leo Bogee

The first wave of COVID-19, and the significant challenges it raised for hospitals, underscored the highly critical role that pharmacists, infection preventionists, and antimicrobial stewardship teams play in keeping patients, staff, and visitors safe.

During this panel discussion, infection prevention and pharmacy leaders from hospitals across the country shared some of the biggest challenges they encountered during the first wave of COVID-19, how they used clinical surveillance to enhance patient care, and the lessons they learned. They also shared how their organizations are preparing for a second wave of COVID-19, and the initiatives they are implementing now to ensure safer care.

During this live panel discussion, pharmacists and infection preventionists describe:

The challenges they faced during the first wave of COVID-19 and how they addressed them
The role that clinical surveillance played in enhancing patient care
How they are preparing for a potential second wave of COVID-19
Their top recommendations for other pharmacists and infection preventionists