Celebrate Perioperative Nurse Week: November 8 to 14
Perioperative Nurse Week 2015 is a time to celebrate the profession, honor perioperative nurses, and educate the public on the important role of the perioperative nurse in safe patient care. Thank you to all perioperative nurses for your hard work and dedication.
Study: ‘July phenomenon’ concerns unfounded
Editor's Note Referred to as the “July phenomenon,” the influx of new surgical residents and interns at the beginning of the academic year is assumed to be associated with poor outcomes. This study of nearly 1.5 million patients who had emergency general surgery either early (July-August) or late (September-June) in…
Medical societies plead with Congress to fix ‘meaningful use’
Editor's Note A coalition of 111 medical societies on November 4 sent letters asking Senate and House leaders to take legislative action to pause Stage 3 of the electronic health records meaningful use program and revise Stage 2 so that it enables provider success, HealthData Management reports. Stage 3 requirements…
Joint Commission, CDC collaborate on infection prevention in ambulatory settings
Editor's Note The Joint Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on an initiative to adapt, enhance, and disseminate CDC infection prevention guidance in a variety of free-standing and ambulatory healthcare settings. The Joint Commission will select and work with 12 outpatient-focused professional organizations and…
Calming words as effective as preop medication to relax patients
Editor's Note A few calming words from an anesthesiologist are as effective as medication in relaxing patients before anesthesia and surgery, finds research presented at the Anesthesiology 2015 annual meeting. Researchers compared conversational hypnosis (ie, talking quietly and positively and focusing the patient’s attention on something other than the upcoming…
Survey: Patients want more electronic communication with providers
Editor's Note A Nielsen survey of 5,000 healthcare recipients found that 15% (aged 18 to 65) communicate with providers through e-mails, 21% schedule appointments online, and 9% get text reminders, the Washington Post reports. Among those who do not communicate electronically, 36% were interested in online appointment scheduling, and 34%…
Effect of total joint infection control bundle on SSIs
Editor's Note Quality improvement initiatives combined with pulsed xenon ultraviolet room disinfection reduced total knee surgical site infections (SSIs) from four to zero and total hip SSIs from three to zero for a combined prevention of seven SSIs and a savings of $290,990 in 1 year at Trinity Medical Center,…
FDA: Quest Medical recalls certain lots of Myocardial Protection System delivery sets
Editor's Note Quest Medical, Inc (Allen, Texas), on October 28 initiated a nationwide recall of its Myocardial Protection System delivery sets, Models 5001102, 5001102-AS, and 7001102 of specified lots. The sets have shown possible seal failure along the blood source channel of the main pump cassette, resulting in blood loss…
52 ACS NSQIP hospitals achieve meritorious outcomes
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized 52 of 517 participating hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2014. Recognized hospitals are deemed “meritorious” for their composite quality scores in eight surgical care outcome areas. Hospitals are required…
CMS denies 10% of claims under new ICD-10 codes
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rejection rate of Medicare fee-for-service claims submitted with the new ICD-10 codes was 10.1% in October. Invalid use of ICD-9 codes resulted in the rejection of 0.11%, and 2% were not accepted because of invalid or incomplete information. More information…
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- Surgical robotics market accelerates as new players challenge industry giants
- Robotic surgery boosts 3-year relapse-free survival in rectal cancer
- Low-cost simulation helps surgical trainees practice crisis skills for major hemorrhage
- Nurse leaders weigh in on NCLEX pass rate decline, impact on workforce readiness
- FDA issues early alerts on multiple high-risk device recalls from J&J, Medtronic, Baxter, Boston Scientific
- New UCSF measure shows 1 in 60 cesarean deliveries involve serious surgical complications
- Hospitals can curb costly post-acute discharges with targeted periop programs, study finds
- Sameness in nursing care puts patients at risk
- CMS’s plan to phase out inpatient-only list could bolster rural ASCs
- AAAHC unveils v44 standards to sharpen focus on patient-centered ambulatory care