Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 9 released a list of reusable devices that will require new validated instructions for use (IFU) and validation data in premarket notifications regarding cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization. These actions are effective August 8, 2017. The list includes: Bronchoscopes (flexible or…
Editor's Note Despite concerns that quality improvement efforts may widen disparities, national racial disparities in surgical mortality are narrowing, this study finds. Using Medicare claims data from 2005 to 2014, Harvard researchers found that, overall, national mortality trends improved for both black and white patients by 0.10% and 0.07% per…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified medical device labelers that the compliance dates for unique device identifier (UDI) requirements for Class I and unclassified medical devices has been extended from September 24, 2018, to September 24, 2020, and for direct mark requirements from September 24, 2020,…
Editor's Note National Time Out Day, June 14, highlights the importance of taking a time out and increases awareness of safe practices that lead to optimal surgical patient outcomes. The Joint Commission is partnering with AORN on National Time Out Day to ask every perioperative team member to be a…
Editor's Note Transformational leadership qualities develop throughout an RN’s career, even outside of upper management levels, finds this study. Earlier studies have shown that leadership capabilities are strongest within CNO and director positions. The study, which included 261 active RNs, also shows that those with management experience and more than…
Editor's Note Discharge from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) without assessment of lower limb motor function after spinal anesthesia for total hip or knee arthroplasty did not increase length of hospital stay or readmissions but significantly reduced time in the PACU (0.40 vs 1.56 hours), this study finds. This multicenter…
Editor's Note ECRI Institute on June 6 announced the release of CrossCHEQ, its new service that offers unbiased guidance on equivalent alternatives for medical-surgical supplies and implants. By comparing key performance indicators, buyers can assess opportunities for standardization and better respond when products are out of stock or recalled. The…
Editor's Note Hospital participation in value-based reforms was associated with greater reductions in 30-day readmissions, this study finds. In this analysis of 2,837 hospitals between 2008 and 2015, researchers found that participation in one or more voluntary Medicare value-based reforms, which included the Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records program,…
Editor's Note A bipartisan group of 24 US Representatives sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, MD, on May 26 asking him to use his statutory authority to move ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) to…
Editor's Note Trauma centers verified by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS-COT) have fewer complications among pediatric, elderly, and severely injured patients, finds this study. The odds of experiencing any major complication were more than 3.0 times greater for elderly patients in trauma centers without ASC-COT verification…