Editor's Note In the first 2 years of Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program, there was a modest reduction in spending per procedure without an increase in complication rates, this study finds. Comparing costs associated with 280,161 joint replacement procedures in 803 hospitals required to participate in the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on December 19 that, effective July 1, 2020, it will begin publicly reporting hospitals with consistently high C-section rates on"Quality Check," using hospital data reported during CY 2018 and 2019. The Joint Commission began requiring accredited hospitals to collect and submit data on the…

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Editor's Note Pierced earring holes can be a source of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) via cross-transmission of bacteria from the holes to nurses’ fingers, this study finds. For this analysis, earlobes and fingers of 200 nurses (128 with pierced ears and 72 unpierced) working at a university hospital in Japan…

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Editor's Note An annual poll from Gallup found nurses rated the highest among professions in the US for their honesty and ethical standards for the 17th straight year. A total of 84% of respondents rated the honesty and ethical standards of nurses as “very high” or “high.” Physicians came in…

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Editor's Note Antimicrobial treatment of asymptomatic organisms identified in preoperative urine cultures was not associated with reductions in the risk for postoperative infections, including urinary tract infections (UTIs) and surgical site infections (SSIs), this study finds. In this analysis of 68,265 patients in 109 Veterans Affairs hospitals who had cardiac,…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 19 launched a webpage that covers four high-risk areas that surveyors evaluate. The “4-1-1 on Survey Enhancements” interactive page provides resources for: Sterile medication compounding Suicide prevention High-level disinfection and sterilization Hemodialysis. The Joint Commission enhanced its evaluation of these high risk areas…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 20 announced that fluoroquinolone antibiotics can increase the occurrence of ruptures or tears in the aorta. The FDA recommends that healthcare professionals: Avoid prescribing fluoroquinolone antibiotics to patients who have or are at risk for having an aortic aneurysm, and…

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Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) on December 11 published a new expert guidance on “Infection prevention in the operating room anesthesia work area.” Key recommendations of the guidance to improve infection prevention include: Increased hand hygiene performed, at a minimum, before aseptic tasks, after removing…

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Editor's Note US hospital jobs increased 12,700 in November to a seasonally adjusted 5,228,200, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on December 7. That is up 118,000 more employees than a year ago. Overall, healthcare employment has increased by 328,300 in the past year. The overall unemployment rate is 3.7%.

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Editor's Note In this study, an ultrarestrictive opioid prescribing strategy was associated with a reduction in the number of pills dispensed without changes in postoperative pain, complications, or increases in prescription refill requests. In this case-control 2-year analysis of 1,231 women having surgery for gynecologic cancer, those having ambulatory or…

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