New ACS Interactive Web Tool Helps Surgeons Avoid Medicare Penalties
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons has launched a new web tool to help surgeons navigate and succeed in Medicare’s mandatory quality programs: Physician Quality Reporting System, Electronic Health Record-Meaningful Use, and Value-Based Modifier. Surgeons who do not successfully participate in these programs in 2015 could face up to…
CMS Issues Proposed Rule for Hospital Outpatient and ASC Payments
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on July 1 issued a proposed rule for CY 2016 for the hospital outpatient prospective payment (OPPS) and ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment systems. CMS proposes an OPPS decrease of .01%. The change is based on a projected hospital market basket increase…
FDA: Class I recall of Maquet FLOW-I Anesthesia Systems
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on July 1 issued a Class I recall, the most serious, of FLOW-I Anesthesia Systems by Maquet. Maquet has received 10 reports of patient cassettes (ie, the center of gas flow in the system) coming loose. The cassette locking device may accidentally release…
CMS Proposes Changes to the 'Two-Midnight' Rule
Editor's Note On July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released proposed updates to the “Two-Midnight” rule regarding when inpatient admissions are appropriate for payment under Medicare Part A. The proposed update allows physicians to use their judgment to admit patients for short hospital stays on a case-by-case…
Three-Year Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery vs Lifestyle Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Our Take Bariatric surgery in patients with type 2 diabetes resulted in more disease remission than lifestyle intervention alone, a study finds. Those who had a surgical procedure followed by lifestyle interventions were significantly more likely to achieve and maintain glycemic control than those who received intensive and then maintenance…
The Impact of Operating Room Distractions on Stress, Workload, and Teamwork
Our Take Distractions in the OR are associated with higher mental workload and stress and poorer teamwork among OR personnel, a study finds. The most prevalent distractions were those from external staff, followed by case-irrelevant conversations. Case-irrelevant conversations initiated by surgeons were associated with lower teamwork in surgeons and anesthesiologists. Equipment-related…
Cincinnati hospital unveils $6M operating room
Our Take The University of Cincinnati Medical Center invested $6 million to upgrade an OR into a hybrid OR for heart and vascular procedures. The cost was about three times the cost of a non-hybrid OR. The 854 sq ft room includes $2.6 million in equipment and advanced medical imaging devices.…
Leveraging Data to Transform Nursing Care: Insights From Nurse Leaders
Our Take In a study to gain insight into how nurse leaders are influencing the use of performance data to improve nursing care, two themes emerged: Getting relevant, reliable, and timely data into the hands of nurses The leaders' ability to “connect the dots” in working with different stakeholders. A…
The Effect of Adding Functional Classification to ASA Status for Predicting 30-Day Mortality
Our Take In this study, functional capacity to perform activities of daily living was an independent predictor of postoperative mortality within each ASA class, indicating that it should be incorporated into routine preoperative evaluations. The likelihood for mortality was significantly lower for patients who were functionally independent than for those…
At Risk Care Plans: A Way to Reduce Readmissions and Adverse Events
Our Take This article describes an “At Risk Care Plan,” the goal of which is to improve safety and quality care by anticipating individual safety and care needs of patients at risk and to communicate those needs to the health care team. This intervention has reduced hospital readmissions, costs, and…
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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