Tag Archives: C. diff. spores and more

Edmond A. Hooker, MD, DrPH and Nancy Foster, VP, Quality and Patient Safety Policy, American Hospital Association Discuss the CMS 2019 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) on ‘C.diff. Spores and More’ Radio on July 3rd

Listen in on Tuesday, July 3rd at 1:00 p.m. ET

C. diff. Spores and More Global Broadcasting Network©

www.cdiffradio.com

Hosted by the C Diff Foundation brought to you by VoiceAmerica and sponsored by Clorox Healthcare

Our guests Edmond A. Hooker, MD, DrPH and Nancy Foster, Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety Policy, American Hospital Association will be discussing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CMS 2019 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule – which includes proposals to de-duplicate measures across the five hospital quality reporting programs.

This special live broadcast discussion will be about the CMS’ recent proposals for Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) measures and to provide facts that will bring forth a better understanding of the proposed rule.

Guest Information:

Eddie Hooker, MD, DrPH, is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Louisville and at Wright State University. His areas of expertise include emergency medicine, epidemiology, health-services management, and public health.

Dr. Hooker received his BS degree from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He earned his MD degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He then completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Louisville. As a full-time faculty member at the University of Louisville from 1991 until 1996, Dr. Hooker served as an Associate Professor and Director of Resident Research. He was very active in brain trauma and stroke research. Dr. Hooker most recently practiced emergency medicine at a private hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was active cardiac research. Since 2005, Dr. Hooker has been teaching in the Department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University. In the spring of 2007, Dr. Hooker earned his Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Hooker continues to be active in emergency medicine and public-health research. He has authored more than 20 publications in leading emergency-medicine journals, published many book chapters, and continues to have an active research agenda. Dr. Hooker serves as an editor for Emedicine, an online clinical knowledge base. He is the medical advisor for Indian Hill Schools.

……………..

Nancy Foster is the Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety Policy at the American Hospital Association. In this role, she provides advice to public policymakers on legislation and regulations intended to improve patient safety and quality in America’s hospitals. Foster is the AHA’s point person at the National Quality Forum, the Hospital Workgroup of the Measures Application Partnership, and is the liaison to the Joint Commission’s Board, and represents hospital perspectives at many national meetings.

Prior to joining the AHA, Foster was the Coordinator for Quality Activities at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In this role, she was the principal staff person for the Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force, which brought Federal agencies with health care responsibilities together to coordinate their work and engage in projects to improve quality and safety. She also led the development of patient safety research agenda for AHRQ and managed a portfolio of quality and safety research grants in excess of $10 million.

She is a graduate of Princeton University and has completed graduate work at Chapman University and Johns Hopkins University. In 2000, she was chosen as an Excellence in Government Leadership Fellow.

“C. diff. Spores and More ™“ spotlights world renowned topic experts, research scientists, healthcare professionals, organization representatives, C. diff. survivors, board members, and their volunteers who are all creating positive changes in the
C. diff. community and more.

Through their interviews, the C Diff Foundation mission will connect, educate, and empower listeners worldwide.

Take our show on the go…………..download a mobile app today

www.voiceamerica.com/company/mobileapps

This live broadcast will be archived in the ‘C.diff. Spores and More’ library and can be easily accessed at your leisure. www.cdiffradio.com

C. diff. Spores and More, Join Us and Celebrate

www.cdiffradio.com

C. diff. Spores and More

Join us and Celebrate

with our 81,453 listeners – so far – in Season III.

We thank our listeners joining us every

Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET

across the U.S. A. and to our listeners in

Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Ireland
Israel
Japan
Malaysia
Peru
Russia
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan
Trinidad
Ukraine
UK and Across the Globe

We also extend our sincere gratitude to the guests who take time out of their busy

schedules to join us on each live broadcast. Though their words of wisdom and

by sharing the most up-to-date information with us raises awareness in so

many important areas of healthcare.

Season III concludes on October 31, 2017

and we will be gearing up for

the 5th Annual International C. diff. Awareness Conference & Health EXPO taking

place on November 9th and 10th at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas.

For conference information please click on the link below.

https://cdifffoundation.org/2017cdiffconference/about-nov-2017-annual-conference/

Join us in Season IV when we return on January 9th, 2018

as we continue bringing you updates that are focused on, but not limited to,

C. difficile infection prevention, treatments, clinical trials, environmental safety

and much more.

Thank you again for listening and we wish you and your families improved health,

continued healing, and the best day — which you all deserve!

Clifford McDonald, MD and Alison Laufer-Halpin, Ph.D., of the CDC Discuss the Human Microbiome on C. diff. Spores and More

C Diff Foundation’s “C. diff. Spores and More Global Broadcasting Network” is honored to announce Doctors McDonald and Laufer-Halpin as our guest speakers on

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET

(www.cdiffradio.com)

These two leading topic experts will be discussing significant ways to unlock the mysteries of the human microbiome; how it affects our health, the immune system, and why it is so important to protect it.

As part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) efforts to protect patients and slow antibiotic-resistance, the CDC is investing in research to discover and develop new ways to prevent antibiotic-resistant infections.

To Listen To the Podcast – click on the following link:

https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/100322/the-human-microbiome-how-it-works-how-it-affects-your-health-your-immune-system-and-why-it-is

Learn more about C Diff Radio at: http://www.cdiffradio.com/.

Home Health Care Information for Both Physicians and Patients

What is Home Health Care?

At its basic level, “home health care” means exactly what it sounds like – medical care provided in a patient’s home. Home health care can include a range of care given by skilled medical professionals, including skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Home health care can also include skilled, non-medical care, such as medical social services or assistance with daily personal activities provided by a highly qualified home health aide.

As the Medicare program describes, home health care is unique as a care setting not only because the care is provided in the home, but the care itself is “usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective” as care given in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

When we say “home care” a common thought is senior care. However; in today’s society wellness draining diagnosis occur in every age group. Some of the more chronic, long-term illnesses greatly benefit from receiving home health care vs extended stays in acute care facilities and other health care in-patient services depending upon individual living situations and over-all health conditions.

Who qualifies for Home Health Care?

Each individual must contact their insurance provider to inquire about this skilled care provided within their home. There may be co-pays per visit, limitations of the number of visits per episode and per calendar year, there may additional stipulations and should be understood by the patient and their families prior to discussing with a Medicare enrolled Physician.

To be eligible for Medicare home health services a patient must have Medicare Part A

and/or Part B.

To be eligible for Home Health Care Services: (1)

Be confined to home.
Need Skilled Services.
Be Under the Care Of a Medicare -enrolled Physician.
Receive Services Under a Plan Of Care Established and Reviewed by a Physician and Have Had a Face-to-Face Encounter With a Physician or Allowed Non-Physician Practioner (NPP). Care Must Be Furnished By or Under Arrangements Made by A Medicare-Participating Home Home Health Agency (HHA).
Patient Eligibility—Confined to Home

Section 1814(a) and Section 1835(a)

of the Act specify that an

individual is considered
confined to the home” (homebound) if the following two criteria are met:
First Criteria: One of the Following must be met:
1. Because of illness or injury, the individual needs the aid of supportive devices such as crutches, canes, wheelchairs, and walkers; the use of special transportation; or the
assistance of another person to leave their place of residence
2. Have a condition such that leaving his or her home is medically contraindicated.

Second Criteria Both of the following must be met:
1. There must exist a normal inability to leave home.
2. Leaving home must require a considerable and taxing effort.

Home Health Aids May Be Included In the Home Health Care Assessment and Assigned To Assist With Personal Care – Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s), Bathing, Feeding, Dressing, and Walking.

To learn more about Home Health Care Nursing and being treated in the home environment, listen to Linda Jablonski, MS, BSN, RN-BC – Director of Nursing Home Health. Click on the C.diff. radio logo below to listen to the podcast.

Sources:

(1) CMS (article se1436) https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/se1436.pdf

C. diff. Spores and More (cdiffradio.com) Launches Season III

cdiffRadioLogoMarch2015

Welcome to Season III of C. diff. Spores and More Global Broadcasting Network, and sponsored by Clorox Healthcare (www.cloroxhealthcare.com/cdiffradio)

Join us every Tuesday at 10:00 a.ml PT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 12:00 p.m. CT / 1:00 p.m. ET for our live broadcast.

Dr. Katherine Fleming-Dutra, MD is a medical epidemiologist with the Office of Antibiotic Stewardship in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Fleming-Dutra is a Pediatrician and Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician and has focused on infectious diseases, epidemiology, and antibiotic stewardship in the outpatient setting in her career at the CDC.

Dr. Fleming-Dutra spent an hour with us discussing the Over Prescribing Of Antibiotics — and the Key to Fighting Antibiotic-Resistance — clinicians and patients.

https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/96728/a-prescription-for-over-prescribing-the-key-to-fighting-antibiotic-resistance

The guidelines, programs, campaigns, tracking methods, and tools being provided by the CDC are outstanding and need to be shared and implemented by clinicians to continue reducing the rate by 50% by 2020 of all inappropriate selections and incorrect duration in antibiotic therapies. Antibiotic Stewardship programs are available and should be in place across the healthcare industry.

Antibiotic Stewardship Guidelines

For Healthcare Providers and Professionals: To learn more about the outstanding tools provided by the CDC to aid in bringing about positive changes please click on the links provided below:

Here are links to the Core Elements:

https://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/community/improving-prescribing/core-elements/core-outpatient-stewardship.html

https://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/healthcare/implementation/core-elements.html

https://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/prevention/antibiotic-stewardship.html

AND

Links to Patient Safety Atlas

Antibiotic Resistance Patient Safety Atlas: Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions by State Data (2011-2014)

Antibiotic Resistance Patient Safety Atlas: Healthcare Facilities Reporting HAIs by State Data (2011-2014)

https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/96728/a-prescription-for-over-prescribing-the-key-to-fighting-antibiotic-resistance

We know that the CDC’s most recent figure for C. difficile-associated deaths in the U.S. is considerably higher than that of any previous survey. According to the CDC*

Nearly 500,000 patients are diagnosed with a C. diff infection estimated per year in the U.S., with more than 29,000 deaths
Up to $4.8 billion in excess health care costs for acute care facilities
Prevention steps include antibiotic stewardship and improved infection control in hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities

Through interviews – each episode becomes part of the living library. The podcasts are accessed continuously promoting education and advocating the C Diff Foundation’s mission that are connecting, educating, and empowering listeners worldwide.

Questions received through the show page portal will be reviewed and addressed by the show’s Medical Correspondent, Dr. Fred Zar, MD, FACP, Dr. Fred Zar is a Professor of Clinical Medicine, Vice Head for Education in the Department of Medicine, and Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over the last two decades he has been a pioneer in the study of the treatment of Clostridium difficile disease and the need to stratify patients by disease severity.

Take our program on the go…………..download a mobile app today

www.voiceamerica.com/company/mobileapps

Antibiotic Resistance IS A Serious Global Health Concern

C.diff. Treatments

A Nevada woman has died from an infection resistant to all available antibiotics in the United States, public health officials report.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the woman’s condition was deemed incurable after being tested against 26 different antibiotics.

Though this isn’t the first case of pan-resistant bacteria in the U.S., at this time it is still uncommon. Still, experts note that antibiotic resistance is a growing health concern globally and call the newly reported case “a wake up call.”

“This is the latest reminder that yes, antibiotic resistance is real,” Dr. James Johnson, a professor specializing in infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School, told CBS News. “This is not some future, fantasized armageddon threat that maybe will happen after our lifetime. This is now, it’s real, and it’s here.”

According to the report, the woman from Washoe County was in her 70s and had recently returned to America after an extended trip to India. She had been hospitalized there several times before being admitted to an acute care hospital in Nevada in mid-August.

Doctors discovered the woman was infected with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), which is a family of germs that CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden has called “nightmare bacteria” due to the danger it poses for spreading antibiotic resistance.

The woman had a specific type of CRE, called Klebsiella pneumoniae, which can lead to a number of illnesses, including pneumonia, blood stream infections, and meningitis. In early September, she developed septic shock and died.

The authors of the report say the case highlights the need for doctors and hospitals to ask incoming patients about recent travel and if they have been hospitalized elsewhere.

Other experts say it underscores the need for the medical community, the government and the public to take antibiotic resistance more seriously.

According to the CDC, at least two million people become infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria each year, and at least 23,000 die as a direct result of these infections.

The World Health Organization calls antibiotic resistance “one of the biggest threats to global health.”

A grim report released last year suggests that if bacteria keep evolving at the current rate, by 2050, superbugs will kill 10 million people a year.

While scientists are working to develop new antibiotics, that takes time, and experts encourage doctors and the public to focus on prevention efforts.

One of the most important ways to prevent antibiotic resistance is to only take antibiotics only when they’re necessary.

“Drug resistance like this [case] generally develops from too much exposure to antibiotics,” assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, told CBS News. “Every time you’re placed on an antibiotic it’s important to question if it’s absolutely necessary and what’s the shortest amount of time you can take this antibiotic for it to still be effective.”

Johnson notes that medical tourism – the practice of traveling to another country to obtain medical treatment, typically at lower cost – may no longer be worth the risk. “With this [antibiotic] resistance issue, the risk/benefit of this approach really changes and I think that people really need to be aware and seriously consider if it’s a good idea given the possibility of this kind of thing,” he said.

Frequent hand washing, particularly in healthcare settings, is also extremely important in preventing the spread of germs.

To read the article in its entirety please click on the link below to be redirected:

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/nevada-woman-died-from-superbug-resistant-to-all-available-antibiotics-in-us/640548775

September Is SEPSIS Awareness Month; Learn More With the CDC and Worldwide Organizations Raising Awareness; It’s A Race Against Time

Sepsis With The CDC; It’s A Race Against Time

Sepsis Awareness Month is in September. SEP for Sepsis.
SEP for September – making September the perfect month for Sepsis Awareness Month

30 Days to Highlight Sepsis

September is Sepsis Awareness Month and for 30 days, Sepsis Alliance www.sepsis.org and sepsis advocates pull out all the stops to spread the word about what sepsis is, what it does, and how we can make a difference and save lives.

Faces of Sepsis:

PoppaManihat

http://www.sepsis.org/faces/michael-j-caralla-sr/

Sepsis hits home and is no stranger to the Foundress of the C diff Foundation or to the millions of families who have lost loved ones from Sepsis. Loosing a loved one from Septic Shock with C.diff. involvement is devastating for any family. The C Diff Foundation supports and joins the organizations raising Sepsis awareness worldwide and we encourage everyone to join in the global efforts being made to help save lives.

Click on the Logo below to listen to the Podcast from a live broadcast on “C. diff. Spores and More” Global Broadcasting Network “Sepsis; Number One Preventable Cause of Death Worldwide” with guests Dr. Tex Kissoon, MD,a well-known doctor from Canada, will provide us with the insight into the global phenomenon of Sepsis. Sepsis affects more than 30 million lives per year yet it is almost unknown to the general public and is quite often misdiagnosed by medical professionals worldwide. The reasons of why that is with the “why” Sepsis is so deadly, and what you can do to increase Sepsis awareness– will be discussed in the next 60 minutes. Dr. Kissoon is joined by Ray Schachter, a Sepsis survivor who has dedicated all of his available time to combating and raising awareness of Sepsis worldwide. Both are members of the Global Sepsis Alliance, which has established World Sepsis Day on September 13th every year to raise awareness for Sepsis worldwide.

World Sepsis Day is September 13th

worldSepsisDay

Free online congress on September 8- 9, 2016
Register now!

http://www.world-sepsis-day.org/?MET=HOME&vLANGUAGE=EN

worldsepsisbanner

SepsisCDC710

Saving patients from sepsis is a race against time

CDC calls sepsis a medical emergency; encourages prompt action for prevention, early recognition

Sepsis is caused by the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection and requires rapid intervention. It begins outside of the hospital for nearly 80 percent of patients. According to a new Vital Signs report released by CDC, about 7 in 10 patients with sepsis had used health care services recently or had chronic diseases that required frequent medical care. These represent opportunities for healthcare providers to prevent, recognize, and treat sepsis long before it can cause life-threatening illness or death.

SepsisCDCThinkSepsis

“When sepsis occurs, it should be treated as a medical emergency,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Doctors and nurses can prevent sepsis and also the devastating effects of sepsis, and patients and families can watch for sepsis and ask, ‘could this be sepsis?’”

Certain people with an infection are more likely to get sepsis, including people age 65 years or older, infants less than 1 year old, people who have weakened immune systems, and people who have chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes). While much less common, even healthy children and adults can develop sepsis from an infection, especially when not recognized early. The signs and symptoms of sepsis include: shivering, fever, or feeling very cold; extreme pain or discomfort; clammy or sweaty skin; confusion or disorientation; shortness of breath and a high heart rate.

SepsisCDCBannerHealthcareMatters

According to the Vital Signs report, infections of the lung, urinary tract, skin, and gut most often led to sepsis. In most cases, the germ that caused the infection leading to sepsis was not identified. When identified, the most common germs leading to sepsis were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and some types of Streptococcus.

Health care providers, patients and their family members can work as a team to prevent sepsis.

Health care providers play a critical role in protecting patients from infections that can lead to sepsis and recognizing sepsis early. Health care providers can:

· Prevent infections. Follow infection control requirements (such as handwashing) and ensure patients to get recommended vaccines (e.g., flu and pneumococcal).

· Educate patients and their families. Stress the need to prevent infections, manage chronic conditions, and, if an infection is not improving, promptly seek care. Don’t delay.

· Think sepsis. Know the signs and symptoms to identify and treat patients earlier.

· Act fast. If sepsis is suspected, order tests to help determine if an infection is present, where it is, and what caused it. Start antibiotics and other recommended medical care immediately.

· Reassess patient management. Check patient progress frequently. Reassess antibiotic therapy 24-48 hours or sooner to change therapy as needed. Determine whether the type of antibiotics, dose, and duration are correct.

CDC is working on five key areas related to sepsis:

· Increasing sepsis awareness by engaging clinical professional organizations and patient advocates.

· Aligning infection prevention, chronic disease management, and appropriate antibiotic use to promote early recognition of sepsis.

· Studying risk factors for sepsis that can guide focused prevention and early recognition.

· Developing tracking for sepsis to measure impact of successful interventions.

· Preventing infections that may lead to sepsis by promoting vaccination programs, chronic disease management, infection prevention, and appropriate antibiotic use.

To read the entire Vital Signs report visit: www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/sepsis.

For more information on sepsis and CDC’s work visit: www.cdc.gov/sepsis.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

###

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, stem from human error or deliberate attack, CDC is committed to respond to America’s most pressing health challenges.