Editor's Note An update on wrong-site surgery from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory (PPSA) found that the three most common types reported since 2004 were: Anesthetic blocks by anesthesiologists and surgeons (26.6%) Wrong-level spinal procedures (12.8%) Pain-management procedures (11.5%). The analysis included a total of 689 reported events.
Editor's Note There were 2.1 million fewer patient harms between 2010 and 2014, resulting in thousands fewer accidental deaths and billions of dollars in health cost savings, finds this analysis of the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System (MPSMS). The analysis found that from 2005 to 2011, the rate of adverse…
Editor's Note Nearly three-quarters of physicians and health plan executives say quality measures are too complex, making it difficult for physicians to achieve them in a survey by Quest Diagnostics and Inovalon. Other findings include: 65% of physicians don’t have all the patient information they need 64% of physicians don’t…
Editor's Note An American College of Surgeons (ACS)-sponsored resolution to train more professional (ie, police, firefighters) and civilian first responders in the techniques of bleeding control and to place bleeding control kits with the responders was approved June 14 by the American Medical Association House of Delegates, ACS says in…
Editor's Note Hospitals with better nursing work environments and above-average staffing levels were associated with better value (ie, lower mortality with similar costs), especially for higher risk patients, this study finds. The study included 25,752 elderly Medicare general surgery patients treated at 35 focal hospitals (mean nurse-to-bed ratio, 1.51) and…
Editor's Note Orlando Regional Medical Center treated 44 of the Pulse nightclub shooting victims; nine died, the June 14 Modern Healthcare reports. A total of 26 surgical procedures were performed early Sunday morning, June 12, six more were performed on Monday, and eight were performed on Tuesday, June 14, with…
Editor's Note The concept of shared governance has evolved to professional governance with the attributes of accountability, professional obligation, collateral relationships, and effective decision-making, this study finds. For 40 years, shared governance served as a nonhierarchical structural framework to create an environment that supports professional nursing practice and interdependence with management. The time…
Editor's Note Septicemia was the most expensive condition treated in US hospitals in 2013, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Others in the top 20 most expensive were: osteoarthritis, 2nd complications of device, implant, or graft, 4th complications of surgical procedures or medical care, 13th hip fracture,…
Editor's Note A 16-hour delay from emergency department (ED) admission or a 12-hour delay from hospital admission to performance of an appendectomy was not associated with an increased risk of surgical site infections (SSIs), in this study. Of 1,338 patients included in the study, 70% had a diagnosis of simple…
Editor's Note Moving to information systems and data requirements of the new value-based payment (VBP) reimbursement system is proving to be a daunting challenge for healthcare providers, the June 13 Health Data Management reports. A survey of healthcare executives from 190 hospitals shows that only 3% of respondents provide more…
