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A federal government watchdog is sounding the alarm that Americans’ growing enthusiasm for telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic has led to a worrying parallel: a “dramatic increase” in telehealth-related fraud. (Diaz, 2/22)

Experts are worried that patient safety has been negatively affected amid all this immense change. “The conditions and the common contributing factors that increase the risk for errors have probably risen throughout the pandemic,” said Patricia McGaffigan, vice president of patient safety programs at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. “The normal defenses we have put in place have really been centered around our expected way of working and so much of that has really changed.” For instance, restrictions on family members visiting patients likely contributes to oversights in safety because they are typically an extra set of eyes and ears for their loved ones, McGaffigan said. (Castellucci, 2/20)

Anecdotes from front-line caregivers—particularly nurses—over unsafe conditions for patients have emerged throughout the pandemic. Crystal Johnson, an emergency department nurse at Emanate Health Inter-Community Hospital in Covina, Calif., is an example. The hospital experienced a surge of COVID-19 during the holiday season and in the weeks after. When she spoke to Modern Healthcare last month, Johnson claimed a waiver from the state allowing hospitals to adopt higher nurse-staffing ratios led to subpar care for patients. “You’re prioritizing your care based on what is needed at the time,” she said. “It’s completely unsafe.” (Castellucci, 2/20)

Throughout Olivia Thompson's 12-hour shift as a cardiac and Covid-19 nurse in Chandler, Arizona, she closely monitors the oxygen levels of several patients at a time and works with other medical specialists to heal them. For some, no amount of care Thompson gives prevents them from being transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. (Marples, 2/22)

They’ve been on the front lines of the pandemic for almost a year. They’ve battled under grueling conditions. They’ve saved lives and watched people die. And a staggering number have become sick themselves. More than 14,000 health care workers at the state’s largest medical centers and hospital systems have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to data compiled by the Globe — a reflection of the toll of the pandemic on the essential health care workforce. The figure includes people who work in all parts of hospitals, from nurses and doctors to cleaning and cafeteria staff. (Dayal McCluskey, 2/21)

The details of a deal between Floyd Medical Center and Atrium Health will be presented to the Floyd boards during their joint meeting Monday. No vote will be taken, said FMC President and CEO Kurt Stuenkel, but it’s his intention to detail the mountains of minutiae regarding the deal during the closed session portion of that meeting. (Bailey, 2/20)