Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on November 6 released its Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2018. The report identifies potential sources of danger involving medical devices and other healthcare technologies to watch for in the coming year. Topping the list is ransomware and other cybersecurity threats, followed by endoscope…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 3 updated its emergency management requirements for hospital, ambulatory, home health, and hospice settings, effective November 15. The updated standards will assist healthcare organizations in more effectively planning for disasters and coordinate with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local emergency preparedness systems. The…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 1 announced it will update the hospital outpatient prospective payment system rates by 1.35%. The final rule also removes total knee arthroplasty from the inpatient only list along with five other procedures and adds one procedure to the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced November 1 that it is redesigning its Accreditation and Certification reports to be more user-friendly.  The redesigned reports will highlight the most relevant information about surveys and reviews, outcomes, and required follow-ups. Additional changes include: removing unnecessary white space and repetitive text prioritizing and grouping…

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Editor's Note The burden and bureaucracy of today’s practice of medicine are major factors influencing physicians’ intentions to reduce work hours or leave the profession, finds this study from the American Medical Association, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University. Of nearly 36,000 physicians across all specialties surveyed, 6,880 (19.2%) responded. Nearly 1…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAHC) announced on November 2 that it has developed a new Orthopaedic Certification program for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). After an ASC achieves overall accreditation, it can acquire the Orthopaedic Certification to demonstrate excellence in the specialty of orthopaedics by meeting…

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Editor's Note High-risk, noncancerous flat epithelial atypia (FEA) breast lesions can be treated with close observation rather than surgical removal in most cases, this study finds. The analysis of 208 patients diagnosed with FEA over a 9-year period found that after mammography, biopsy, and surgical excision, five lesions (2.4%) were…

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Editor's Note For the third year in a row, researchers with the Lewin Group couldn’t determine whether Medicare’s voluntary Bundled Payment for Care Improvement initiative cuts costs and improves care, the October 31 Modern Healthcare reports. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) funded analysis found that although providers…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued new guidance designed to offer clarity on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System’s (MIPS) data blocking component, the October 30 Healthcare Informatics reports. The guidance outlines how MIPS-eligible clinicians can show they are fulfilling the information blocking requirement, which…

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Editor's Note Robotic-assisted nephrectomy is more expensive and takes longer than conventional laparoscopic nephrectomy and confers no additional benefits, this study finds. The proportion of robotic-assisted nephrectomies increased from 1.5% in 2003 to 27% in 2015. Of 23,753 patients analyzed, no significant differences were found in major postoperative complications between…

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