Editor's Note As surgical procedures are shifting to the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) setting, smart planning and preparation can help ASCs approach smart growth in the next several years, according to a November 21 news story in Becker’s ASC Review. The article highlighted several business-savvy strategies for smart service line…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed the start date for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) prior authorization demonstration that affects ten states. This delay shifts the date previously set for December 15, 2025, and sets two different phases across affected states into 2026, according…

Read More

Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders processing the November 21 decision from CMS to finalize its proposal to phase out Medicare’s inpatient-only list are looking at the change with optimism, as well as caution, according to a November 26 news story in Ambulatory Surgery Center News. The article featured…

Read More

Editor's Note Gamification in perioperative education has become a popular way to engage learners in different ways, including as teams. Perioperative educators shared their tips for creating and implementing effective gamified perioperative education in the December issue of AORN Journal. One essential goal noted was to ensure educational goals are…

Read More

Editor's Note While the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) represents important implications for health care delivery and patient care, AI application in healthcare care has lagged behind other industries such as information services. However, this changed significantly in 2025, according to findings from a new study published November 21 in…

Read More

Editor's Note A novel preoperative vaccine using a biodegradable scaffold system has proved effective in a mouse model to prevent infection associated with orthopedic devices. The investigators noted this vaccine approach could help prevent surgical site infection in patients undergoing joint replacement surgery, according to a December 1 news release…

Read More

Editor's Note To help teams develop and grow the confidence to demonstrate compliance with infection prevention practices during survey, focus on building practice-based consistency, an infection control consultant recently advised in an article published in the November/December issue of Healthcare Hygiene Magazine. The expert discussed infection control habits that healthcare…

Read More

Editor's Note Being able to motivate staff members is a leadership imperative. Often, it’s the advice and lessons received from mentors that help shape a leader’s approach. Several healthcare executives recently shared in a November 26 article published in Becker’s Hospital Review about what lessons have inspired them to lead…

Read More

Editor's Note A surgeon’s cognitive biases, such as those influencing memory and information processing, were directly associated with surgical complications and patient harm, including death. These findings from a systematic review published in the December issue of Annals of Surgery. Among 21 reviewed studies, 38 cognitive biases and heuristics (mental…

Read More

Editor's Note Viral misinformation, novel technologies, fears of litigation, and productivity metrics have crippled physicians' sense of well-being, according to a professor of medicine and a pulmonologist in an opinion article published November 16 in MedPage Today. He cited data on burnout noting that almost half of all physicians experience…

Read More