Editor's Note This year has been busy for smoke evacuation legislation, with several states including North Carolina and Delaware signing mandatory surgical smoke evacuation into law. Work in Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Michigan recently shared about in an AORN legislative update provides a snapshot of what it can take to educate…

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Editor's Note Technologies continue to advance for effective, efficient, and safe surgical smoke evacuation. And healthcare organizations are reaping the rewards, including improved employee health and productivity. A surgical smoke expert recently explored the current state of regulatory, legislative, and technology developments to reduce surgical smoke exposure in Today’s Medical…

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Editor's Note While artificial intelligence (AI) tools can inspire innovation and efficiency, they also pose safety risks, especially in a healthcare setting. Therefore, balancing centralization versus decentralization for AI oversight requires the right approach, according to research findings in a December 10 article in Harvard Business Review. The investigators sought…

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Editor's Note Seasonal influenza activity is increasing, with the largest increases reported among children and young adults and in the northeastern and mountain west areas of the country. Nationally, the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza, and the percentage of outpatient visits for respiratory illness and emergency department…

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Editor's Note Since equipping ORs with video cameras for computer-vision capability at AdventHealth Celebration in Florida, AI-driven data have provided a key resource for improving OR efficiency in several ways, according to an OR leader from the facility highlighted in a December 3 blog post from AORN Periop Life. One…

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Editor's Note To overcome communication challenges in the OR such as excessive noise, congestion, and universal masking that impair verbal and nonverbal communication, one expert recommended real-time captioning technology be used, according to an advanced publication article published in the February 2026 issue of The American Journal of Surgery. In…

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Editor's Note While artificial intelligence (AI) has moved rapidly into clinical application, decisions around setting rules and requirements for responsible AI use are evolving more slowly. This could pose challenges for hospitals where resources are already limited, especially for smaller hospitals. Without a unified system for evaluating AI products, hospitals…

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Editor's Name Over 80% of surgeons suffer work-related injury or illness due to poor ergonomics in the OR. By spending long hours in static positions performing repetitive, highly precise tasks over many years, musculoskeletal pain involving the neck, back, shoulders, and arms is an unfortunate reality that can influence early…

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Editor's Note Perioperative nurses play an essential role in patient safety and surgical efficiency. But how exactly? Findings from a qualitative study published in the December issue of AORN Journal breaks down how perioperative nurses navigate decisions in high-pressure environments. This study involved semi-structured interviews with 11 perioperative nurses working…

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Editor's Note A recent report on patient harm events by number and type from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was explored in a December 2 article in HealthAffairs. The OIG reviewed medical records of 770 hospitalized Medicare patients who were discharged in…

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