Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 2 issued the FY 2018 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, which updates Medicare payment and policies when patients are discharged from hospitals. The rule increases rates by 1.2%. This includes an initial market-basket update of 2.7%…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on July 28 issued a Safety Alert for compounded triamicinolone and moxifloxacin for intravitreal injection by Guardian Pharmacy Services (Dallas, Texas). [The Guardian Pharmacy Services in Dallas is not affiliated with the national long-term care Guardian Pharmacy Services, LLC headquartered in Atlanta.] The…

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Editor's Note Screening elderly patients preoperatively using the Vulnerable Elders Surgical Pathways and Outcomes Assessment (VESPA) tool helped identify patients at higher risk of postoperative complications in this study. A total of 736 patients 70 years of age or older were assessed in a preoperative clinic from July 9, 2008,…

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Editor's note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 31 announced the recall by ICU Medical, Inc (San Clemente, California) of one lot of 0.9% sodium chloride injection, USP 1,000 mL. The recall was issued because of a confirmed customer complaint of particulate matter identified as stainless steel in…

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Editor's Note The 2017 National Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Week is August 7 to 11. ASCs across the country will host a variety of activities and events to celebrate, including educational seminars, tours of ASCs, health screenings, and social media outreach. The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association has a National ASC…

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Editor's Note A well-structured water distribution and documentation process helped bariatric surgery patients drink more water and improve postoperative outcomes, finds this study presented July 23 at the 2017 American College of Surgeons Quality and Safety Conference. The average baseline water intake for 12 patients was 381.5 mL during a…

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Editor's Note Early postoperative hyperglycemia was linked to increased readmissions after gastrointestinal surgery in insulin-dependent diabetic patients, but elevated preoperative hemoglobinA1c was not, this study finds. Higher preoperative hemoglobinA1c levels were associated with increased postoperative glucose level checks and insulin use as well as lower rates of postoperative complications. Though…

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Editor's Note From 2005 to 2014, the average inflation-adjusted cost of a hospital inpatient stay increased by 12.7%, from $9,500 to $10,900, according to new statistics from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Average costs for stays increased: 16% for Medicaid 18% for private insurance 8% for Medicare…

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Editor's Note A new study finds a big drop in smoking rates when surgeons get involved in helping patients quit before surgery through the "Strong for Surgery" program. The study was presented July 23 at the 2017 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Quality and Safety Conference. Strong for Surgery is…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care on July 25 released a new toolkit that focuses on flexible endoscope reprocessing failures. The toolkit is designed to help eliminate failures or lapses in reprocessing through detailed guidelines and checklists in order to mitigate the risk of patient infections. The…

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