The Global Allergy and Asthma Excellence Network's consensus report, which included input from the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, introduces a clinical support tool designed to aid health care providers in diagnosing anaphylaxis. This tool outlines criteria for identifying likely cases based on allergen exposure and symptom presentation, aiming to streamline the recognition and management process.

Dr. Jessica Zitter, a critical care and palliative care physician, transitioned into filmmaking to explore medical issues and inspire positive change in health care culture. Her latest documentary, "The Chaplain & The Doctor," highlights her collaboration with a palliative care chaplain and the importance of addressing patients' spiritual needs.

An initial draft of the Trump administration's budget proposal includes a nearly one-third reduction in funding for HHS, according to reports. The proposal would reduce the agency's discretionary budget from about $117 billion in fiscal 2024 to $80 billion in fiscal 2026, and calls for eliminating entire agencies to achieve savings.

Funding reductions for the NIH could affect drug development, as the agency is a major source of basic science research funding that underpins pharmaceutical innovation. "The NIH work is really the critical groundwork for everything that happens in drug discovery," said Dr. Fred Ledley of Bentley University.

The Medical University of South Carolina is expanding its virtual nursing program from medical and surgical units to the emergency department, intensive care unit and specialty care units. The initiative has improved metrics such as nurse satisfaction, patient satisfaction, time spent on electronic medical record tasks and discharge times, but hiring has been paused to address workflow efficiencies and productivity.

Poor verbal, non-verbal, written or electronic communication among health care workers contributed to 25% of patient safety incidents in hospitals between 2013 and 2024 and was the sole cause of 10% of safety incidents, according to a meta-analysis of studies from various regions around the world. "Health care professionals seeking to enhance their own communication skills may be guided by published reports of communication interventions designed to improve patient safety," researchers wrote in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Ellen Beck is a veteran journalist with extensive local, state and national experience in wire service, print, broadcast and online media. She has focused on health care reporting for more than 20 years, beginning with a critical care newsletter. She is very interested in hearing what you think are the important topics of the day in critical care medicine. Email her at Ellen.Beck@futurenet.com. If you found this brief valuable, please share it with a friend or colleague!