Editor's Note The first look at possible new ICD-10 codes is expected in early May, and anxiety is building, according to the April 24 ICD10monitor. The comment period has passed for providing feedback on the ICD-10-PCS (inpatient procedure coding) codes, and comments for the ICD-10-CM (diagnosis coding) proposals are not…

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Editor's Note In this study, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) had a greater risk of transmission in the OR than methicillin-sensitive S aureus. Researchers collected 173 S aureus isolates from 274 randomly selected ORs (first and second cases of the day in each OR) at three hospitals. The isolates underwent systematic-phenotypic…

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Editor's Note A statistically significant association was found between type 2 diabetes and the risk of hip fracture in this study. Researchers analyzed 158,984 patients with and without diabetes. The incidence of hip fracture in diabetics was 2.3% using the competing risk with death methodology (Fine-Gray models) and 2.6% using…

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Editor's Note Surgeons at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, completed the first successful penis transplantation in the US in a patient who had a subtotal penectomy for penile cancer. Operative reinterventions were needed on postoperative days 2 and 3 for hematoma evacuation and skin eschar debridement. At 3 weeks, no…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) on April 25 reported that a national drug shortage of injectable opioids and local anesthetics is negatively affecting care received by patients under anesthesia. An informal survey of 2,500 ASA members, found that 98% are now experiencing drug shortages at their institutions,…

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Editor's Note In this study, non-elective surgical procedures performed by older surgeons (aged 50 and up) had lower mortality rates than those performed by younger surgeons, and mortality rates did not differ significantly by surgeon gender. A total of 892,187 Medicare patients who had one of 20 common types of…

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Editor's Note NewYork-Presbyterian on April 24 announced the opening of the David H. Koch Center, a world-class ambulatory care center that provides a seamless patient experience from diagnosis to treatment. The approximately 749,000 square foot facility includes services such as outpatient surgery, interventional radiology, diagnostic imaging, and infusion services as…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 24 issued its hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule for FY 2019. The proposed rule increases rates by 1.75%, which reflects the projected market-basket update of 2.8% for hospitals that were meaningful users of electronic health…

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Editor's Note A Black Book market survey found that 92% of patients younger than 40 expressed dissatisfaction if their providers did not offer them complete medical records, and 85% wanted more telehealth options, the April 23 Healthcare Informatics reports. A total of 88% of respondents blamed the hospital systems directly…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 25 issued a Safety Alert that provides preliminary information concerning magnetic resonance (MR) thermometry reliability with MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) devices. The FDA is evaluating data that suggests potentially inaccurate MR thermometry information can be displayed during treatment,…

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