Editor's Note Risk-adjusted surgical outcomes vary widely across hospitals within networks that are on the Honor Roll of the US News & World Report, this study finds. In this analysis of 87 hospitals and 143,174 patients, outcomes were not consistently better at Honor Roll hospitals compared with network affiliates. For…
Editor's Note Leaders who sponsor other people in the workplace (ie, have a protégé) experience career benefits in the form of promotions or stretch assignments, the June 17 Harvard Business Review reports. A survey conducted for the book, “The Sponsor Effect: How to Be a Better Leader by Investing in…
Editor's Note Patients whose surgeons had more coworker reports about unprofessional behavior in the 36 months before their surgical procedures had a significantly increased risk of complications, this study finds. In this analysis of 13,653 patients having surgical procedures performed by 202 surgeons in two academic medical centers, 1,583 (11.6%)…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 19 announced that the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) has issued a new report−“Key Workforce Competencies for Quality-Driven Healthcare”− that focuses on creating a new framework for competencies needed by healthcare organizations to meet new goals for quality-driven healthcare. Among the competencies:…
Editor's Note Large numbers of healthcare workers go to work with symptoms of cold, flu, and other acute respiratory illnesses, this study finds. In this survey of healthcare workers from nine Canadian hospitals during four influenza seasons, 94.6% reported working while sick with an acute respiratory illness, most often because…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on June 18 identified the recall by Cook Incorporated (Bloomington, Indiana) of its Advance Enforcer 35 Focal-Force PTA Balloon Catheter 6 mm x 4 cm as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of multiple complaints of balloons bursting below…
Editor's Note Physician-to-physician variation in electronic health record (EHR) documentation could result in patient harm and clinical inefficiencies, this study finds. The study by University of Michigan researchers included EHR data from 170,332 encounters led by 809 physicians in 237 practices and interviews with 40 physicians in 10 practices. The…
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced June 14 in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that four hospital patients developed sepsis after receiving platelet transfusions contaminated with bacteria. The CDC found that the platelets contained Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. The agency is still…
Editor's Note Academic medical center nurses have a high prevalence of insufficient sleep and symptoms of sleep disorders, finds this study presented June 10 at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in San Antonio. A survey of 1,165 nurses at an academic medical center found that: 49%…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 12 announced that it is reviewing the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) revisions to its General Chapter <797> Pharmaceutical Compounding−Sterile Preparations. The Joint Commission is evaluating the effect of the revisions on its accredited organizations and plans to issue guidance and updated survey…
