SCCM Pod-29 CCM: Rationing in the ICU

Robert Truog, MD, discusses his article in the April 2006 issue of Critical Care Medicine, "Rationing in the Intensive Care Unit."

CMS Rule Changes for Critical Care Services in 2022

This article was first published in the Winter 2022 issue of Critical Connections . The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule has been released, with many changes. One important change involves guidelines for critical care services an...

Optimizing Smart Infusion Pumps

This article was first published in the Winter 2022 issue of Critical Connections . Errors associated with administration of IV medications are a primary safety concern for hospitals. Many medication errors can be prevented via safe medication practices, including the use of ...

International Medical Graduates and COVID-19

This article was first published in the Winter 2022 issue of Critical Connections . Experts predict that an intensivist shortage is looming as demand for ICU services increases. We have reached the point where demand has overcome the supply of intensivists.

Improving the Critical Care Experience of LGBTQIA+ Patients and Families

This article was first published in the Winter 2022 issue of Critical Connections . When critically ill or injured patients need the services of a critical care team, they are at their most vulnerable. Here are six simple strategies that trained intensivists and critical care...

Leading by Example

Profiling leaders and organizations working to combat health disparities and establish trust in the communities they serve.This article was first published in the Winter 2022 issue of Critical Connections . In populations hardest hit by COVID-19, innovative healthcare and com...

Surgery and Critical Care Coding

 This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. Critical care and follow-on care policies vary among insurers and Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). Providers should follow the guidance of the insurer or MAC. This article does not con...

Seeking Out Authenticity in the Face of Uncertainty

This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. This article reviews the ethics in a case of an infant with complex cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD) underwent initial palliative surgical repair complicated by prolonged extracorporeal mem...

How to Implement an Early ICU Mobility Program

This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. Early mobility has been a proposed treatment for mechanically ventilated patients since the 1970s. Its benefits are reduced intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital lengths of stay (LOS) and fewer v...

Neurosciences and the Pandemic

This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. We have much to elucidate on the neurologic manifestations associated with COVID-19. Reports have been published linking severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to stroke, sei...

Exploring the Knowns and Unknowns of MIS-C

This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. It is a pattern that has been repeated in COVID-19 hot spots nationwide. Several weeks after the surge, emergency departments and intensive care units (ICUs) start seeing children, typically with ...

Neuromuscular Blocking Agents in the ICU: Shortages, Pitfalls, and Strategies Moving Forward

This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. The most common uses for neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) are in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), status asthmaticus, rapid sequen...

Optimization of Pharmacy Services When Time Is of the Essence

This article was first published in the Fall 2020 issue of Critical Connections. This article highlights a local stroke team’s treatment algorithm, which includes a clinical pharmacist.

Alternative Analgesia and Sedation Strategies During Drug Shortages

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. Supply chain issues are making drug shortage more common. Know the alternative medications and routes of administration to continue providing quality care.

Critical Care Education and Training: What Has Changed

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. The pandemic potentially altered the path of training and job placement for early-career critical care professionals.

Innovative Strategies for Family Engagement

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. Family engagement in critical care, a key component of the ICU Liberation campaign, has never been more on the forefront than during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Global Surgical Package: What It Really Means for Critical Care in 2021

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. Trauma surgeons, intensivists, and critical care physicians should keep up to date with the rules for the global surgical package and what it means for the provision of critical care services.

Pandemic Situation Report: Perspectives on COVID-19 Surges, Case Trajectories, and Viral Variants

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and while the pace of study of the novel SARS-CoV-2 pathogen and disease is unparalleled, numerous key questions remain incompletely answered. SARS-CoV-2 continues...

Can Your ICU Benefit from a Rapid Response Team?

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. Rapid response teams (RRTs) were initially conceived in the 1990s in Australia and north America. 

Second Victims of the Pandemic: The Complexity of Workforce Well-Being

This article was first published in the Fall 2021 issue of Critical Connections. Many healthcare professionals believe that well-being remedies such as respite rooms, exercise facilities, and on-site counseling services sound great in theory but in actuality are benefits they ...