Editor's Note Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on March 15 amended the February 4, 2020, COVID-19 emergency use authorizations for: diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 personal respiratory protective equipment other medical devices including alternative products used as medical devices drug and biological products. These emergency…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 17 identified the recall by Datascope/Getinge of certain Cardiosave Hybrid and Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the coiled cable connecting the display and base on some units may fail,…
Editor's Note The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 14 released an updated WHO health workforce support and safeguards list for 2023, which identifies 55 countries as vulnerable of not having the availability of healthcare workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage (UHC)…
Editor's Note This study from Sweden finds that sleeping less than 5 hours a night is associated with an increased likelihood of developing peripheral artery disease (PAD), compared with sleeping 7 to 8 hours. The study included more than 650,000 participants and was conducted in two parts. The first analyzed…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on March 8, issued an update on reports of squamous cell carcinoma in the scar tissue (capsule) that forms around breast implants—both saline and silicone as well as textured and smooth. Previously, on September 8, 2022, the FDA informed the public of…
Editor's Note This study by researchers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Washington, DC, finds that the COVID-19 pandemic had a differential impact on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) of various types in VA facilities. A total of 128 acute-care and 132 long-term care VA facilities were included in…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 15, announced that refreshed Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports are available for primary (PSCs) and comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) to provide updated performance measurement data on quality measures selected for advanced certification programs. The reports contain data through the third quarter of 2022. Dashboards…
Editor's Note In this study, led by the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, researchers developed and validated better surgical specialty-specific multimorbidity definitions based on distinct characteristics of older inpatients undergoing general, orthopedic, or vascular surgery. The researchers used 2016 to 2017 Medicare administrative claims data on patients…
Editor's Note A recent survey by online platform The Muse finds that Generation Z workers are the most likely to leave a job because of a toxic workplace, even though they have spent the least amount of time in the workplace, the March 14 Benefit News reports. The survey showed…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente on March 15 announced that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity. The award, now in its 3rd year, recognizes a healthcare organization for an intervention that led to…