Tuesday, May 23, 2023
IHA Health Equity Webinars on SDoH Screening
Social Media Driving Teen Mental Health Crisis
Webinar: Medicaid, CHIP Continuous Enrollment Unwinding
New Guidance: Stop Administering Antibiotics after Surgery
Illinois COVID-19 Data
Briefly Noted
IHA Health Equity Webinars on SDoH Screening
The first of two complimentary IHA webinars on social determinants of health (SDoH) screening will zero in on the connection between an effective SDoH screening process, population health outcomes and health equity.
“Introduction to SDoH Screening and the Impact on Quality of Care and Health Outcomes" on June 21, from 1-2 p.m., will provide tools and resources to support implementation of an effective SDoH screening process. It will also guide members in complying with screening requirements from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Led by IHA quality improvement experts, as well as a program implementation expert from Cynosure Health, the webinar will lay the foundation for a focused look at SDoH screening this summer. SDoH screening is an essential part of advancing health equity as it seeks to address the non-medical barriers to optimal health, such as income, discrimination, literacy skills, transportation and access to healthy foods.
The webinar series will continue on July 21 with “Practical Strategies for Implementing SDoH Screening and Addressing Social Risk Factors," also from 1-2 p.m. This webinar will identify the components of an effective SDoH screening process and offer practical strategies to support hospitals' SDoH work.
The series is designed for hospital leaders and staff responsible for SDoH screening, including those in quality improvement, risk management, compliance, clinical care, case management, community health, medical staff, and health information and medical records.
The webinars will be recorded and made available to registrants after the program. There is no cost attend. Register today.
Contact us at HealthEquity@team-iha.org with questions.
Surgeon General: Social Media Driving Teen Mental Health Crisis
Social media use is driving adolescent and teen depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, according to a report released today by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Reportedly saying youth mental health is “the defining public health issue of our time,” among other recommendations, Murthy called upon lawmakers to establish strong health and safety standards to protect children and teenagers from exposure to age-inappropriate or harmful content and excessive use.
According to the report, up to 95% of kids between 13 and 17 confirm they use at least one social media platform, and almost a third say they are “almost constantly” scrolling, posting or otherwise engaged with social media. The report goes on to note that 8th and 10th graders now spend an average of 3.5 hours per day on social media, as of 2021.
The report references research that draws a correlation between social media use and poor mental health in adolescents, including a 2019 study that found teenagers who spent more than three hours daily on social media “faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
The surgeon general’s warning comes on the heels of a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey that found nearly three in five teenage girls (57%) reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless”—the highest rate in a decade. Thirty percent of those surveyed said they had seriously considered committing suicide, a percentage that has increased by almost 60% over the last decade.
Webinar: Medicaid, CHIP Continuous Enrollment Unwinding
Join the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) tomorrow, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. CT for a Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Continuous Enrollment Unwinding webinar on messaging for kids and families.
The webinar will provide information on:
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CMS media strategy for Medicaid renewals resuming;
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Outreach to families about maintain health insurance coverage; and
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Update on new kids and family outreach materials.
Click here to register. A Zoom link will be provided following registration. All questions can be directed to PARTNERSHIP@cms.hhs.gov.
More provider guidance on responding to the continuous enrollment unwinding and other post-Public Health Emergency (PHE) updates can be found at IHA’s COVID-19 PHE sunset webpage.
New Guidance: Stop Administering Antibiotics After Surgery
Physicians should stop administering antibiotics after surgery, according to new guidance from the Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2022 Update, published earlier this month in the journal Infection Control and Healthcare Epidemiology.
Antibiotics administered before and during surgery should be discontinued immediately after a patient’s incision is closed, according to the updated recommendations for preventing surgical site infections. According to a news release issued by the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America, experts found no evidence that continuing antibiotics after a patient’s incision has been closed, even if it has drains, prevents surgical site infections. The research reveals continuing antibiotics does in fact increase the patient’s risk of C. difficile infection, which causes severe diarrhea, and antimicrobial resistance.
Researchers say surgical site infections are among the most common and costly healthcare-associated infections, occurring in approximately 1% to 3% of patients undergoing inpatient surgery. Patients with surgical site infections are up to 11 times more likely to die compared to patients without such infections.
To support hospital members with their commitment to quality and safety efforts, IHA's Institute for Innovations in Care and Quality is advancing person-centered healthcare in Illinois through evidence-based initiatives that can measurably improve patient safety and strengthen quality healthcare including the prevention of healthcare acquired infections. For questions about our programs and resources please contact IHA.
Illinois COVID-19 Data
With the state of Illinois and the nation ending the Public Health Emergency (PHE) last week, the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) announced it is shifting to a new cadence for data reporting and will release updates every other week. The next update will be May 26. IDPH will continue to report COVID-19 data on the weekly number of people admitted to hospitals from emergency departments, deaths and vaccinations, as well through the dashboard of the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System.
Briefly Noted
Yesterday, U.S. health regulators approved a new nasal spray that can reverse fentanyl and other opioid overdoses. According to an ABC News report, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opvee, a drug similar to naloxone. ABC News said a prescription will be required to access the drug which has been approved for those 12 and older.
Last week, an FDA independent advisory committee also recommended the first shot to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants, NBC News reported. The shot, made by Pfizer, was unanimously recommended by the panel based on its efficacy, and the panel voted 10-4 to recommend it based on safety, noting there was “a slightly higher rate of preterm births…among people who received the vaccine.” The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its expert panels, but it typically does. According to the article, the agency is expected to make a decision on the RSV vaccine by late summer or fall.