FDA: Hospira recalls one lot of Sodium Bicarbonate Injection
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 21 announced the recall by Hospira, Inc (Lake Forest, Illinois) of one lot of 8.4% Sodium Bicarbonate Injection, USP (NDC: 0409-6625-02, Lot 56-148-EV, Expiry August 1, 2017). The recall was initiated because of the presence of a particulate in a single-dose…
Peripheral nerve blocks linked to better total joint outcomes
Editor's Note Peripheral nerve blocks were associated with fewer complications and lower costs in total hip and knee patients in this study, which was presented March 23 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. In this analysis of more than 1 million patients…
Implications of patient age, ASA status on OR management decisions
Editor's Note Evaluation of patient age and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status as variables can help OR managers better predict turnaround times, which can facilitate scheduling, this study finds. Researchers developed models of turnaround times of 13, 632 OR procedures with respect to multiple variables including surgical schedule,…
AHRQ’s Patient Safety Chartbook shows 17% decline in HACs
Editor's Note Patient safety in hospitals improved from 2010 to 2014 as the overall rate of hospital-acquired conditions (HACS) declined 17%, according to the new National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Patients Safety Chartbook from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The overall HAC rate declined from 145/1,000…
CMS reports drop in physicians, hospitals in ‘meaningful use’
Editor's Note The number of physicians that participated in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “meaningful use” program dropped from 228,662 in 2014 to 226,514 in 2015, and hospital participation declined from 4,177 to 4,071, Bloomberg BNA reports. The drop in participation occurred despite repeated efforts by CMS…
FDA proposes ban on most powdered gloves
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 21 announced a proposal to ban most powdered gloves in the US. The proposed ban applies to powdered surgeons' gloves, powdered patient examination gloves, and absorbable powder for lubricating surgeons' gloves. Powdered gloves pose an unreasonable and substantial risk of…
Patient factors strongly predict 30-day readmissions
Editor's Note The patient’s clinical condition responsible for admission, age, comorbidities, and socioeconomic factors such as race, income, and payer status were strong predictors of readmission within 30 days in this study. The analysis included some 15 million patients at 611 hospitals from Premier healthcare alliance over a 2-year period.…
Joint Commission approves new, revised NPSGs for CAUTIs
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 21 approved a new National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) for accredited nursing care centers. Also approved were revisions for the existing CAUTI NPSG for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals, which were made to bring the NPSG…
Effect of bundled payments for colectomy on hospital finances
Editor's Note In this analysis of Medicare patients undergoing colectomy at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, payments under the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative were lower than traditional fee-for-service payments, and the proportion of patients contributing to a net negative margin increased. Of 821 patients analyzed, 33.7% contributed to an overall…
CMS given more time for final notice on ‘two-midnight’ payment cut
Editor's Note The US District Court for the District of Columbia has given the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) another month to issue a final notice justifying cutting inpatient payments by 0.2% in conjunction with its “two-midnight” rule, The March 18 AHA News Now reports. CMS has until…
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