Editor's Note An Independent Security Evaluators study of 12 hospitals found that all had vulnerabilites that could lead to patient deaths or harm, according to a May 9 report from WUSA 9. During the study, cybersecurity experts were able to remotely control respirators and patient monitors, trigger false alarms, and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 9 announced the Pioneers in Quality Advisory Panel, a group of technical experts who will be informing the Joint Commission on the successes and challenges hospitals are experiencing in their adoption and use of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). The panel also will…

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Editor's Note This study from Johns Hopkins found a wide variation in hospital price markups for major cardiothroracic and gastrointestinal surgical procedures in the US. Nearly a quarter of the 3,498 hospitals analyzed charged four times more than the actual cost of hospitalization for the procedures. Perioperative morbidity was greater…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has dropped its recall of approximately 2,800 Custom Ultrasonics’ System 83 Plus automated endoscope reprocessors. This action comes despite the FDA's finding last year that the recall was “necessary to protect public health,” the May 6 Kaiser Health News reports. The FDA…

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Editor's Note Hospital employment rose 0.45% in April to a seasonally adjusted total of 5,065,400, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 6. That is 22,900 more jobs than last month and 194,400 more than last year at the same time. Overall employment was unchanged at 5% in April.

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Editor's Note The use of moderate sedation leads to better outcomes than general anesthesia for patients having transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), finds a study presented May 6 at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Of 10,997 patients included in the study, 1,737 received…

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Editor's Note An algorithm that uses vehicle telemetry measurements can improve the guidance of motor vehicle victims to the most appropriate place for care, this study finds. The algorithm is a computer-based program that collects information, such as occupants’ use of seatbelts, airbag deployment, vehicle speed, and point of impact.…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 6 announced a campaign to help educate the public on the importance of multiple identifiers in the healthcare setting. The campaign, “SpeakUp: Right ID, Right Care,” teaches patients how to make sure they are properly identified and includes an infographic, animated video, and…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 4 released comprehensive ambulatory surgery center (ASC) quality data reports compiled through its Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program. Among the data reported are: Quality data code-based measures, such as wrong site, side, patient, procedure, implant Safe…

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Editor's Note A simple arm test that uses a wearable technology can rapidly and accurately identify physiological frailty in older adults facing surgery, finds this study. Researchers developed a 20-second upper arm extension test (ie, upper extremity frailty [UEF] system) to assess biomarkers of frailty, such as slowness of motion,…

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