Patient Safety & Outcomes

Racial disparities in health and healthcare earned the No. 1 spot on ECRI's list of the top 10 patient safety concerns for 2021.

A new study from Cigna found headaches, migraines and chronic respiratory issues are some of the most common health diagnoses its members are reporting after recovering from COVID-19. 

Despite few hospitalized COVID-19 patients having a bacterial infection, a majority of hospitalizations led to at least one antibiotic prescription, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts' Antibiotic Resistance Project published March 10.

People who have more than five symptoms of COVID-19 during the first week of illness may be more likely to develop prolonged health issues, known as "long COVID," according to a study published March 10 in Nature Medicine.

Patients ages 30 and older infected with the U.K. coronavirus variant had a 64 percent higher death risk than those infected with previously circulating strains, according to a U.K. study published March 10 in The BMJ.

Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health closed its COVID-19 hospital March 5 and transitioned care to four other hospitals. 

In-hospital mortality for COVID-19 patients fell 15 percentage points from March to August 2020, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. 

Online symptom checkers in the U.S. and U.K. sometimes stop patients from seeking prompt treatment for serious illnesses, according to a study published March 9 in BMJ Health & Care Informatics.

Through strategic collaboration and the implementation of best practice technology, hospitals can improve care and outcomes for glycemic patients, even amid the pandemic. 

Among 152 children hospitalized with COVID-19, 18 developed acute kidney injury, according to a study published March 3 in Kidney International.