Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/956253
49 QUALITY & ACCREDITATION flu, but rather a problem with how the vaccine was made. According to the Times, it was grown in eggs, where "it picked up mutations foreign to human flu." Dr. Fauci is one of the authors of an article published Jan. 4 in e New England Journal of Medicine advocating for the creation of a universal flu vaccine that does not rely on eggs. Despite the vaccine's imperfection, health officials staunchly advocate for the public to get vaccinated. "It's far from a perfect vaccine, but we can still do a lot of good with a pretty good one," William Schaffner, MD, head of pre- ventive medicine at Vanderbilt University's medical school in Nashville, Tenn., told the Times. n CMS Clarifies Texting Rules – 4 Insights By Eric Oliver CMS issued a memo concerning new rules related to texting in healthcare settings. Here's what you should know: 1. Effective Dec. 28, 2017, CMS updated its rules gov- erning texting among healthcare providers. 2. Texting patient information to another member of a healthcare team is allowed if the exchange takes place on a secure platform. 3. Texting of patient orders is prohibited in all in- stances. 4. When it comes to patient orders, CMS prefers phy- sicians use computerized provider order entry over other methods. According to a statement, "CMS recognizes the use of texting as a means of communication with other mem- bers of the healthcare team has become an essential and valuable means of communication among team members. In order to be compliant ... all providers must utilize and maintain systems/platforms that are secure, encrypted, and minimize the risks to patient privacy and confidentiality as per HIPAA regulations." n Intermountain, SSM, Ascension and Trinity Health to Launch Generic Drug Company By Ayla Ellison Four health systems from across the country plan to form a nonprofit generic drug company to address the high costs and shortages of generic medications. Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare is lead- ing the collaboration with St. Louis-based Ascension; Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health; and St. Louis-based SSM Health. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is also involved in the hospital venture but has provided no financial support for the project. The organizations aim to expand the availability and af- fordability of essential generic medications and believe their new company will serve as a competitive threat to generic drugmakers. "It's an ambitious plan, but healthcare systems are in the best position to fix the problems in the generic drug market," said Marc Harrison, MD, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare in a statement. "We witness, on a daily basis, how shortages of essential generic medica- tions or egregious cost increases for those same drugs affect our patients. We are confident we can improve the situation for our patients by bringing much needed com- petition to the generic drug market." n Call: 844-SUTURES info@eSutures.com • eSutures.com Over 1 million surgical items in stock and ready to ship same day!