A respected national database of 1700 clinical practice guidelines now includes 100+ entries on caring for patients during COVID-19. The ECRI Guidelines Trust is available for free (registration required) and searchable by specialty, patient age, and other criteria.

Guidelines from international and domestic organizations are reviewed for transparency and rigor of the development process. A sample of the guidelines for COVID-19 care includes:
  • Safe resumption of routine radiology care, from the American College of Radiology;
  • Basic and advanced life support in adults, children, and neonates with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, from the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and more; and
  • Management of critically ill adults with COVID-19, from the Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID‐19 panel.
Dental practices in Massachusetts, now open for a full range elective services, can tap several expert sources to guide infection control and stewardship of patient and staff safety.
  • Return-to-Work Interim Guidance Toolkit from the American Dental Association offers open access to resources for practices restoring services interrupted during early stages of the pandemic. The toolkit provides sample “welcome back” letters for patients in English and Spanish, as well as checklists for screening patients, preparing procedure areas and protecting staff, among other resources.
  • COVID-19 practice management guidance for members of the Massachusetts Dental Society is organized as FAQs for each phase of the state’s gradual reopening of medical practices and services.
Private dental practices and those associated with community health centers began gradually offering elective services in early June, as part of the state’s Phase 2 reopening. The state is now in Step 1 of Phase 3 and the public health standards established in May remain in effect for dental practices.
Massachusetts Health Quality Partners is conducting a series of surveys to help clinicians share what they are learning from their telehealth experiences and quickly adapt to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Over the past few weeks, MHQP piloted a rapid feedback survey process to get a view of what it has been like for health care providers across the state to make a dramatic, sudden shift to a new way of providing much of their care. More than 130 clinicians shared their insights and ideas in the first MHQP telehealth survey.

Each subsequent survey, designed to take about five minutes to complete, will build on the knowledge gained from the prior one to create a dynamic learning system. According to Barbra Rabson, President and CEO of MHQP, quick and widespread adoption of telehealth over the past several months has presented both challenges and opportunities. “This enables us to quickly learn, distill and share more broadly to help the entire profession use telehealth in a way that contributes to the safety and quality of care in the state,” she says.

All clinicians are invited to participate. MHQP will share findings and feedback after each round of surveys.
Upcoming events

  • Pilot survey for outpatient diagnostic safety: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality seeks medical practices to test a pilot instrument on diagnostic safety for its Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS) Medical Office Survey this fall. Send an email to DiagnosticSafety@westat.com with "Pilot test" in the subject line.
  • Mark L. Graber Diagnostic Quality Award from the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine recognizes a person, group, or organization for important contributions to the reduction of diagnostic error. Nominations due Tuesday, September 1. Click here for more information
  • MACRMI’s annual Communication, Apology, and Resolution (CARe) Forum online Monday, September 21, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. The program is free and offers both CME and nursing credits to qualified attendees. Register here
Patient Safety Beat is published by the Betsy Lehman Center, a state agency that uses communications, research, and data to catalyze the efforts of providers, policymakers, and consumers working toward safer health care in Massachusetts.