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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Editor's Note Implementation of stringent OR attire policies that included full coverage of ears and facial hair did not reduce surgical site infection (SSI) risks in this study. Researchers compared American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data of all patients undergoing surgical procedures 9 months before implementation…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that eligible hospitals may submit hardship exception applications until July 1 to avoid 2019 meaningful use payment adjustments under the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, and critical access hospitals may submit applications until November 30 to avoid…

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Editor's Note The submission deadline for all Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program web-based measures is May 15, 2018, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association reported on April 24. ASC-8: Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel is reported through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network.…

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Editor's Note One-third of postoperative readmissions are unlikely to reflect problems with surgical quality, this study finds. Readmissions with diagnoses that were considered associated with surgical quality accounted for 25,521 of 39,664 readmissions (64%) at a VA medical center between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2014. The proportion of…

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Editor's Note Nearly a third of patients used none of the opioids prescribed to them after surgery, finds this study presented by Mayo Clinic researchers April 19 at the American Surgical Association annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. This survey of 1,907 patients who had 25 common surgical procedures at three…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute on April 23 announced the winners of its seventh annual Healthcare Supply Chain Achievement Award, which recognizes hospitals and healthcare systems for their comprehensive and effective use of ECRI Institute’s PriceGuide™ and SELECTplus® supply and capital procurement advisory programs. Eleven winners were selected from nearly…

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