Editor's Note In a new study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), safety-net hospitals performed equally as well as other hospitals when evaluated according to medical-surgical mortality rates. Analyzing data from 1,891 hospitals in 31 states, researchers found that despite ongoing financial disadvantages, the quality of…

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Editor's Note On July 27, PinnacleHealth (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) announced the opening of its Surgery Optimization Clinic to support orthopedic patients at high risk for surgical complications. Other high-risk surgical patient service lines will be added by the end of the year. The aim of the program is to improve patient…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 27 published its Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, the July 27 Modern Healthcare reports. The ratings, which are a composite metric of one to five stars, grade the quality of nearly 4,000 hospitals and are posted to the…

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Editor's Note Public reporting may discourage physicians from offering lifesaving treatment to patients who are at the greatest risk for mortality and poor outcomes, this study finds. Of 45,000 cardiac patients analyzed, the researchers found that physicians were 28% more likely to perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) on patients who…

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Editor's Note To relieve work stress, two nurses at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia helped engineer the hospital’s first Paws for Pennsy event, the July 22 Nurse.Com reports. Nurses and other hospital staff were invited to cuddle, pet, and enjoy the antics of dogs and cats and get much-needed tension relief. About…

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Editor's Note The growth in US healthcare spending from 2015 to 2025 is projected to average 5.8%--1.3% faster than growth in the gross domestic product, finds this study. Healthcare will represent 20.1% of the total economy by 2025. With the initial impact of the Affordable Care Act fading, growth in…

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Editor's Note Implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) could threaten physicians’ autonomy in making decisions for their patients, provide burdensome levels of documentation, and pressure some solo and small practices to close, according to an analysis in the July 23 Medical Economics. MACRA also could contribute…

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Editor's Note The Monticello Community Surgery Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, is posting prices of outpatient procedures on its website, the July 22 CBS 19 reports. The center’s CEO Andy Poole calls it the “wave of the future of healthcare.” Though the center takes insurance and Medicare, knowing the total cost of…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will select 98 hospitals in metropolitan areas to take part in a 5-year mandatory program to test a bundled-payment model for myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures, the July 25 Modern Healthcare reports. CMS will also expand…

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Editor's Note Surgeon buy-in and surgical teamwork were crucial in prompting case-related conversations but not in completing surgical safety checklists, this study finds. Of 207 procedures observed by 10 South Carolina hospitals, few teams completed most or all surgical safety checklist items. All measures of teamwork and surgeon buy-in related…

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