MHA Today | March 29, 2021

Staff Contact: Jane Drummond or Sarah Willson

Following MHA’s request for an extension of his declared emergency and corresponding regulatory waivers, Gov. Parson issued an executive order Friday maintaining the state of emergency and all health care waivers. The order notes the significant decrease in positivity rates and hospitalizations due to COVID-19, but acknowledges the waivers provide critical flexibility for continued response to the pandemic. The order extends the emergency period and continued waivers through Tuesday, Aug. 31.

Staff Contact: Mary Becker

For those with questions about recommended guidelines after becoming fully vaccinated against COVID-19, MU Health Care published some helpful guidelines on wearing a mask, gathering with family and friends, traveling, and quarantining. MU says, “Although you are now protected from infection and can enjoy some things you weren’t able to do over the past year, experts advise it is important to continue following mask and distancing guidelines in public until a sufficient proportion of the population joins you in the ranks of the vaccinated.”

Staff Contact: Rob Monsees or Bill Anderson

State legislative committees reviewed the following legislative proposals.

• Senate Bill 300 would authorize Missouri’s participation in an interstate compact for physician licensure.
• House Bill 1290 would set new standards governing patient visitation policies in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
• House Joint Resolution 51 is a proposed constitutional amendment that, if adopted by the state’s voters, would restrict the use of preexisting conditions in health insurance underwriting and pricing.

Committees also approved House Bill 84, which concerns the authority of advanced practice registered nurses to practice under a collaborative practice agreement, and a new version of House Bill 1179, which concerns the treatment of victims of crimes of sexual assault.

Staff Contact: Jessica Stultz

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a paper, “Assessment of the Appropriateness of Antimicrobial Use in U.S. Hospitals,” that estimates that more than half of antibiotics prescribed in hospitals for selected prescribing events were not consistent with recommended prescribing practices. This analysis is one of the largest to assess appropriateness of prescribing and sets a baseline for future analyses to measure the impact of antibiotic stewardship programs on hospital prescribing. Below are key findings from the paper.

• Among patients treated for community-acquired pneumonia, antibiotic prescribing was not supported for 79.5% of patients.
• Among patients treated for urinary tract infection present on admission to the hospital, antibiotic prescribing was not supported for 76.8% of patients.
• Among patients prescribed fluoroquinolones, antibiotic prescribing was not supported for 46.5% of patients.
• Among patients prescribed IV vancomycin, antibiotic prescribing was not supported for 27.3% of patients.

Staff Contact: Sherry Buschjost

The Joint Commission made standards and glossary changes for both deemed-status hospice organizations and deemed-status home health agencies to match more closely with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Conditions of Participation. The changes were effective March 14. Additional information is available. The recently released TJC bulletin includes additional information applicable to its home care program.