Hospitals have been deeply challenged to provide effective care during the COVID crisis. This article discusses how rationing and ineffective protection for families and patients may have contributed to preventable death and the spread of the virus in families due to unnecessary referrals of patients to home care and hospice.

The uncertainties surrounding coronavirus transmission and treatment are causing patients with known conditions to forgo needed medical care. This article outlines how COVID-19 fear and anxiety are primary contributing factors in patient decisions to delay transplants and other necessary treatments.

In response to a recent investigation raising concerns about inaccurate reporting of wait-time data, this commentary relates barriers to improving patient safety, such as overuse of performance measures. The authors describe approaches to augment safety, such as narrowing down performance measures to address the most significant concerns and engaging private health care organizations in improvement projects.

The author discusses recommended policies and practices for minimizing the risk of retained foreign objects.

The author discusses how language barriers can compromise a patient's health care and highlights the need for reliable interpreters to communicate medical information.