Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

36 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT IU Health CEO demands external review after Black physician alleges racist treatment By Ayla Ellison I ndiana University Health President and CEO Dennis Murphy is calling for an external review aer the death of a Black physician who claimed racism affected the care she received at one of the system's hospitals. Susan Moore, MD, was diagnosed with COVID-19 Nov. 29 and admitted to IU Health North Hospital in Carmel, Ind. She filmed herself from her hospital bed and re- counted her experience in a Dec. 4 Facebook video. Dr. Moore said the white physician who was treating her downplayed her pain complaints and said he felt uncom- fortable giving her more drugs. "I was crushed. He made me feel like I was a drug addict," she said in the Facebook video. "I maintain if I was white, I wouldn't have to go through that." Dr. Moore died of complications from the virus Dec. 20 at age 52. In a Dec. 24 statement, Mr. Murphy said he is saddened by the experience Dr. Moore described in the video. "It hurt me personally to see a patient reach out via social media because they felt their care was inadequate and their personal needs were not being heard," Mr. Murphy wrote. Mr. Murphy said he also saw the perspective of the nurs- ing team "trying to manage a set of critically ill patients in need of care who may have been intimidated by a knowl- edgeable patient who was using social media to voice her concerns and critique the care they were delivering." Aer a preliminary medical quality review, Mr. Murphy said he doesn't believe IU Health failed "the technical aspects of delivery of Dr. Moore's care." He said there is still much to learn through an internal review, and he is asking for an external review of the case. "We will have a diverse panel of healthcare and diver- sity experts conduct a thorough medical review of Dr. Moore's concerns to address any potential treatment bias. e construct of this review is to understand how we im- prove on not only the technical aspects of care, but also the more humanistic elements of the patient experience. e external review also can illuminate ways that we as a system can ensure we live up to our commitment to the equitable treatment of all patients," Mr. Murphy wrote. n COVID-19 protocols shortened hospital stays for moms and babies, Cedars-Sinai study finds By Mackenzie Bean I nfection control practices implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to significantly shorter lengths of stay for new mothers and their babies at Los Angeles-based Ce- dars-Sinai Medical Center, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM. Cedars-Sinai modified infection control practices in its labor and delivery unit in March 2020. Changes included temperature checks for all patients and visitors, use of personal protective equipment for staff and designated triage areas for women suspected of having COVID-19. Researchers examined the maternal and neonatal outcomes for every delivery at Cedars-Sinai between Jan. 1 and April 30. They compared these outcomes to data for the same time period in 2018 and 2019 to assess whether any differences were unique to 2020. After implementing the COVID-19 protocols, 48.5 percent of women who delivered vaginally stayed in the hospital for just one night, compared to 24.9 percent of women before the new protocols took effect. Researchers found a similar trend for wom- en who had C-sections, and there were no increases in adverse outcomes for either delivery method. "In the absence of long-term adverse outcomes occurring after discharge that are tied to earlier release, our study results may support a review of our discharge protocols once the pandemic subsides to move toward safely shortening maternal and new- born lengths of stay," researchers concluded. n CMS extends data submission deadline for quality, value-based reporting By Alia Paavola C MS has extended the data submission deadlines for sever- al quality and value-based reporting programs for hospi- tals, post-acute care facilities and other providers. The agency said it is extending the third quarter of 2020 data submission for these programs by about one month. CMS said the extension is being made to help providers keep their focus on patient care amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The data submission deadline for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program was set for Feb. 1, but it is now March 1. The submission deadline for the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program HCAHPS data was Jan. 6, but it has been extended to Feb. 8. n

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