Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1468749
21 PATIENT SAFETY & OUTCOMES How Jefferson Health is treating loss of smell from COVID-19 By Cailey Gleeson O nce a month at Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, some COVID-19 patients who have lost their sense of smell have their plasma extracted and inserted high up in their nose using a sponge, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported April 4. Early results of the plasma treatment from patients were "prom- ising enough" that physicians began offering it as a paid service outside of the clinical trial, but have since stopped because of the high demand. While experts are unsure how effective the therapy is, there are several hypotheses as to why it may be effective, including the idea that the treatment spurs the clearance of odor molecules, which allows new molecules to attach and be detected. Glen D'Souza, MD, the otolaryngologist at Jefferson Health, told The Philadelphia Inquirer one thing physicians are sure of is that the procedure is safe, as patients are receiving "enriched concentra- tions" of substances from their own bodies. "The idea is to take advantage of whatever the body does to heal itself," Dr. D'Souza said. n Kaiser, Prime Healthcare receive Eisenberg patient safety, quality awards By Erica Carbajal T he Joint Commission and National Quality Forum selected Prime Healthcare Services and Kaiser Permanente Northern California as recipients of their John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards in two categories. is marks the 20th year for the Eisenberg Awards, which "recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and healthcare quality," according to an April 19 press release. e awards include three categories: individual achievement, national-level innovation and local-level innovation. Here are the recipients: Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services was awarded the national award for creating a program to address social determinants of health. e organiza- tion saw improvements in hospital readmission rates aer implementing the program, which involved a new screening tool, community partnerships and bidirection- al communications flow. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente's North- ern California division received the local award for an initiative called Advance Alert Monitor, which proac- tively identifies patients with a high risk of mortality or intensive care unit transfer. e program was shown to decrease mortality, with between 550 and 3,020 lives saved over four years. Hardeep Singh, MD, received the individual achieve- ment award for "his expansive, pioneering career in diagnostic safety and health IT safety." Dr. Singh has a history of successfully translating research into prag- matic tools and strategies to improve inpatient safety. He has partnered with institutions including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to create and imple- ment tools to strengthen health IT, including applica- tions to improve diagnostics. Dr. Singh is chief of health policy, quality and informatics at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center's Center for Innovations in Quality, Ef- fectiveness and Safety in Houston. He is also a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. e Joint Commission and National Quality Forum also presented the Honorary Eisenberg Lifetime Achievement Award to Mark Chassin, MD, former president and CEO of e Joint Commission. e recipients will be recognized during an awards pre- sentation this summer. n Ivermectin fails to curb hospitalizations, 2nd large study shows By Cailey Gleeson I vermectin, an anti-parasitic drug used as an alternative treatment for COVID-19, did not reduce hospital admissions, a study published March 30 in The New England Journal of Medicine found. It is the second large study to show ivermectin didn't improve patient outcomes for factors related to COVID-19 infection. Researchers analyzed 3,515 symptomatic COVID-19-positive adults recruited from 12 public health clinics across Brazil be- tween March 23, 2021, and Aug. 6, 2021. Six hundred seven- ty-nine were prescribed ivermectin or a placebo, and the remain- ing 2,157 received another intervention. Overall, 100 patients in the ivermectin group and 111 in the place- bo group had a primary-outcome event, defined as either a hospi- tal admission or a prolonged emergency department visit. Of the 211 primary-outcome events, 171 were hospital admissions. There were no significant effects of ivermectin on secondary outcomes or adverse events. n