Jackson Health System (Miami, FL), which operates one of Florida’s largest hospitals, has run out of remdesivir, a drug that helps treat COVID-19 patients. Miami-Dade County now has more than 1,600 hospitalized coronavirus patients. Of those, 331 are in ICUs and 168 are on ventilators. These numbers have doubled in the past two weeks. Jackson Health System says it is working … [Read more...]
Vizient urges Congress, CMS to make recently expanded telehealth flexibilities permanent
Vizient Inc. (Irving, TX) urged Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to “make permanent many of the legislative and regulatory actions, particularly those related to telehealth, that have been put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, America’s hospitals and health care professionals have taken … [Read more...]
BD launches rapid point-of-care antigen test to detect COVID-19 in 15 minutes
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (Franklin Lakes, NJ) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a rapid, point-of-care, SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test for use with the company’s BD Veritor Plus System. This new assay delivers results in 15 minutes on an easy-to-use, highly portable instrument, which enables … [Read more...]
PDI receives promising testing results of Super Sani-Cloth Wipes against SARS-COV-2
PDI announced it has generated data showing that its Super Sani-Cloth wipes are effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This is one of several of the company’s hospital-grade disinfecting products being tested for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 for submission to the EPA for approval. Testing of the additional disinfecting products is still underway and … [Read more...]
Henry Ford Health System resumes normal surgeries and procedures
About 1,000 procedures were postponed by Henry Ford Health System (Detroit, MI) at the pandemic’s onset as the only surgeries performed were life-threatening or critical procedures. Other surgeries and procedures resumed for heart disease, cancer and spinal injuries in mid-April. All transcatheter aortic valve replacements resumed in mid-May. And all elective surgeries, … [Read more...]
Texas hospitals in Rio Grande Valley on diversion status as beds fill with COVID-19 patients
Ten of 12 hospitals in Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties in Texas in the Rio Grande Valley are on diversion status as their beds fill to capacity with COVID-19 patients. A spokesperson for the hospitals said the state of Texas has sent medical personnel and supplies to the area to help overwhelmed hospitals. The number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 has more than tripled … [Read more...]
Study finds hydroxychloroquine significantly reduces death rate in COVID-19 patients
Henry Ford Health System published a peer-reviewed study on July 1 investigating the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients using a large-scale retrospective analysis from March 10 to May 2 that looked over 2,500 hospitalized patients from Henry Ford’s six hospitals. The study concluded that treatment with hydroxychloroquine significantly reduces the death … [Read more...]
Vizient teams up with suppliers to offer remote patient monitoring solutions in wake of COVID-19
Vizient, Inc. (Irving, TX) is partnering with suppliers to provide relief for hospitals from the strains of delivering patient care, monitoring and rehabilitation services brought on by COVID-19. The GPO says that the new resources and technology offerings “address hospitals’ immediate and unique needs but are also designed as sustainable approaches to care delivery and … [Read more...]
PDI: Manufacturing through the COVID-19 pandemic
PDI announced what recent measures it has taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. “When concerns over COVID-19 first surfaced, PDI conducted a full supply chain assessment in anticipation of the increased demand. This assessment included evaluating capacity as well as raw material availability,” the company said. “PDI has seen a steady, sharp increase in orders over the … [Read more...]
U.S. races to buy syringes ahead of potential vaccine release in order to avoid shortage scenario
“As scientists race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, some experts warned that syringes could become the next face masks – coveted items in short supply able to plunge the market into chaos. “But it appears that the federal government and health care supply companies learned a lesson from the mad scramble for masks and other personal protective equipment that came to symbolize … [Read more...]