Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 3 announced the creation of a new SAFER [Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk] Matrix web portal for information and resources on the scoring methodology that went into effect on January 1. Among the portal features: A webinar and slide deck that discusses the…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 3 published an update to its 1999 guideline for the prevention of surgical site infections. Among the recommendations: Patients should shower or bathe with soap or an antiseptic agent on at least the night before a surgical procedure. Antimicrobial…

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Editor's Note The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on May 1 expanded its “Access and Quality in VA Healthcare” tool to include inpatient quality data for all VA medical centers, the May 2 AHA News Now reports. The tool, released last month, shows how VA centers compare with regional and…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 3 issued a Safety Alert for Medtronic’s NavLock Tracker. Medtronic has received 196 medical device reports that included two patient deaths after procedures in which non-Medtronic instruments were used with the NavLock Tracker. The NavLock Tracker enables navigation of Medtronic…

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Editor's Note More than half of hospitals were penalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in all five years of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) initiated by the Affordable Care Act, this study finds. Among the study findings: Penalties doubled since the beginning of the program, from…

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Editor's Note National Nurses Week is May 6-12, with May 12 celebrated as International Nurses Day in honor of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the important role nurses play in society. This year’s theme is “Nursing: The Balance of Mind, Body, and…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 18 designated the recall by Medtronic of its HVAD (HeartWare [left] ventricular assist device) system controllers and DC adapters as Class I, the most serious. Medtronic is issuing an updated controller and has begun to remove current HVAD controllers. The…

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Editor's Note Center accreditation alone does not ensure high-quality care for bariatric surgical patients, this study finds. In this analysis of 145,527 patients across 165 bariatric centers of excellence, serious complication rates varied 17-fold at the national level and 2.1-fold at the state level. Complication rates varied at centers with…

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Editor's Note Inspired by aviation and medical best practices for handling crises, researchers have developed a Stress-APGAR protocol to help managers anticipate burnout in employees, according to the April 26 Harvard Business Review. The Stress-APGAR acronym includes five key areas: Appearance: How does the employee look−overly tired, changes in weight,…

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Editor's Note Delos Marshall “Toby” Cosgrove, MD, will step down as CEO of the Cleveland Clinic by the end of the year, the May 1 Cleveland.com reports. Dr Cosgrove will stay on in an advisory role, and his successor will be a practicing physician, keeping up with the Clinic’s history…

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