Spending bill in House would end funding for AHRQ
The House Appropriations Committee has approved a draft budget for fiscal 2016 that would terminate funding for HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The proposal would also cut funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Just last week, AHRQ announced plans to…
Study of Ebola Preparedness Resources in U.S. Hospitals: Costs, Benefits and Challenges
The Joint Commission, Department of Health Services Research, and researchers from Rhode Island Hospital and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America are conducting a study that will provide estimates of the costs and benefits of Ebola preparedness to hospitals. For the study, a nationally representative sample of hospitals will be…
Readmission destination and risk of mortality after major surgery: an observational cohort study
Patients who are readmitted after major surgical procedures have improved survival if they return to the same hospital where their surgery took place, finds a study. Readmission to the index hospital was associated with a 26% lower 90-day mortality risk than readmission to a non-index hospital. These findings may have…
Compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project for Body Temperature Management (SCIP Inf-10) Is Associated with Improved Clinical Outcomes
Background: In an effort to measure and improve the quality of perioperative care, the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) was introduced in 2003. Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed the electronic medical record data from 45,304 inpatients at a single institution to assess whether compliance with SCIP Inf-10 (body temperature management)…
ECRI Institute releases top 10 list of patient safety concerns
ECRI Institute has released its second annual list of the “Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations.” Alarm hazards top the list, with data integrity second, and inadequate reprocessing of endoscopes and surgical instruments in eighth place. To compile the list, ECRI Institute reviewed its database of patient safety…
CMS issues final rule on accrediting organizations
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on May 22 published a final rule on oversight of national accrediting organizations (AOs). The rule revises the procedures for how AOs apply for and maintain accreditation programs in accordance with the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. The rule…
Preop cognitive impairment linked to postop cognitive dysfunction after total hip
Patients with preexisting cognitive impairment have an increased incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction and cognitive decline after hip replacement, finds a study. The study included 300 total hip patients and 51 nonsurgical controls. Preoperative cognitive impairment was identified in 32% of patients. It was found to be a good predictor…
Bariatric surgery Centers of Excellence did not restrict access to care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2006 certification requirement that bariatric surgery be performed only in hospitals designated as Centers of Excellence did not prove to be a barrier to patients’ access to bariatric surgical care, a study finds. Some individuals believed the 2006 certification requirement impeded access to…
Colorado Supreme Court rules on physician supervision of anesthesia care
The Colorado Supreme Court on June 1 ruled on the Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists lawsuit challenging a 2010 decision by then-Governor Bill Ritter exempting Colorado’s rural hospitals from the federal regulation requiring a physician to supervise a nurse anesthetist administering anesthesia during surgical procedures. The Colorado Medical Society and Colorado…
CMS releases 2013 data on Medicare payments for hospitals, physicians
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on June 1 released 2013 data on average charges and payments for hospitals, physicians, and other suppliers. The annual update includes hospital-specific data for the 100 most common inpatient Diagnosis-Related Groups, 30 outpatient Ambulatory Payment Classifications, and physician/supplier-specific data for services and products…
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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