Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 6 announced that beginning July 1, it will need to be notified if an accredited organization loses its deemed status after a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) complaint survey or validation survey. When CMS removes an organization’s deemed status and places…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on June 5 updated its Safety Communication: “Recommendations to Reduce Surgical Fires and Related Patient Injury.” Among the recommendations: Perform a fire risk assessment before each surgical procedure. Encourage communication among anesthesia personnel, surgeons, and OR staff. Practice safe use and administration…
Editor's Note National efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to reduce hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) helped prevent some 8,000 deaths and save $2.9 billion in costs between 2014 and 2016, according to a new report released June 5 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Data…
Editor's Note On June 8, the American Hospital Association (AHA) is hosting its second annual Hospitals Against Violence National Day of Awareness, termed “#HAVhope Friday.” The day has been set aside to focus attention on how hospitals, health systems, and their caregivers work daily to end all forms of violence…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on June 6 identified the recall by Maquet Datascope Corp of its CARDIOSAVE Hybrid Intra-aortic Balloon Pump as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of a design issue that allows fluid to seep into the device, which can lead…
Editor's Note: This study from Iowa State University shows companies have cut funding for research and development (R&D) in response to the medical device tax imposed by the Affordable Care Act. Since 2013, the 2.3% excise tax has significantly reduced: R&D investment by $34 million Sales revenue by $188 million…
Editor's Note ECRI Institute on June 5 announced a new consultative service focused on helping healthcare organizations prevent surgical fires by uncovering hidden vulnerabilities. There have been guidelines published by ECRI Institute and others to prevent and extinguish fires for many years, but implementation of the guidelines is the challenge,…
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration on June 4 announced that it had approved new labeling on potential risks for liquid-filled intragastric balloons by Apollo Endosurgery and ReShape Lifesciences. The new labeling for the Orbera and ReShape balloon systems includes more information about possible deaths linked to the use…
Editor's Note In this study, the use of radial-artery grafts for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) resulted in a lower rate of cardiac adverse events and a higher rate of patency at 5 years than saphenous-vein grafts. A total of 1,036 patients (534 radial artery, 502 saphenous vein) from six…
Editor's Note US hospitals added 6,200 jobs in May to a seasonally adjusted 5,167,400, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on June 1. That is 99,800 more employees than a year ago. The overall unemployment rate fell by 0.1 in May to 3.8%, an 18-year low.
