Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on May 21 announced that it had provided conclusive research to help guide the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new “FDA Report on the Quality, Safety, and Effectiveness of Servicing of Medical Devices.” The FDA report, which addresses concerns about the quality of service provided…

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Editor's Note Contrary to what some studies are suggesting, use of the local anesthetic liposomal bupivacaine as part of a multimodal approach to postoperative pain did not reduce in-hospital opioid use or opioid-related complications after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in this study. Researchers analyzed data on 88,830 TKAs performed with…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 18 identified the recall of Medtronic’s MindFrame Capture LP revascularization device as Class I, the most serious. Medtronic is recalling the device because there is a risk of the delivery wire breaking or separating during use. The clot retriever, which…

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Editor's Note A Hawaii statewide collaborative for surgical patient safety successfully reduced colorectal surgical site infections (SSIs) and improved patient safety culture, finds this study. Between January 2013 and June 2015, Hawaii’s 15 hospitals implemented the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) in addition…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on May 17 announced that Boston Medical Center had won the 2018 Health Devices Achievement Award for its patient-centric mobile pulmonary care app. The ICOUGH Recovery app guides patients through the hospitals postoperative pulmonary care protocol, which focuses on: Incentive spirometry Coughing and deep breathing…

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Editor's Note This study found no cost benefit to maintaining a fully stocked malignant hyperthermia (MH) cart with a full supply of dantrolene in maternity units, where triggering agents are rarely used. Maintaining an MH cart in every maternity unit in the US would reduce morbidity and mortality costs by…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 16 announced that approximately 25% of applicable elements of performance (EPs) in its ambulatory care program will no longer apply to organizations that primarily provide surgical and nonsurgical services via a telehealth platform. Among the reductions: 12 EPs in the Environment of Care…

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Editor's Note For veterans having surgical procedures performed in the VA healthcare system, homelessness is an important risk factor for unplanned readmission, finds this study. Analyzing 232,373 surgical procedures performed on 199,879 patients, researchers found that 5,068 of the procedures were performed on homeless patients. The rate of readmission within…

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Editor's Note Encouraging words are more appreciated when they are informal and specific in their praise, reports the May 15 Fast Company online. A few ways for managers to put this into practice include: Showing appreciation for an idea not just in meetings but during impromptu interactions, like corridor conversations.…

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Editor's Note In this study, working overtime negatively influenced nurse-nurse and nurse-physician collaboration. Survey data from 24,013 nurses in 957 units from 168 hospitals in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators showed that one third of nurses work beyond their scheduled shifts. One hour of overtime was associated with…

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