Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on May 23 released a new online toolkit to help healthcare organizations and providers respond when a patient is harmed. The toolkit is based on the Communication and Optimal Resolution (CANDOR) process, which is a patient-centered approach that emphasizes early…

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Editor's Note In this study, patient factors, hospital case volume, and practice patterns were found to be associated with in-hospital mortality after elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Of 166, 443 AAA repairs performed at 1,207 hospitals, in-hospital mortality was 0.7% for endovascular AAA repair and 3.8% for open AAA…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator accurately estimates the risk of postoperative complications, and the calculator’s performance would improve with recalibration, this study finds. The statistical analysis for this study was based on 2.7 million surgical records collected between…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced May 11 that it will release additional guidance in June regarding the expectations for text orders. The guidance will include the frequency text orders may be used, whether text orders that are directly integrated into the electronic health record are viewed differently than manually…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons on April 12 released an update of its Statements on Principles, which includes its position on the practice of concurrent surgeries performed by a primary attending surgeon. The statement notes that in general, the primary attending surgeon should be in the operating suite…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 11 published it’s latest Quick Safety newsletter, which focuses on informed consent. Implementing an effective informed consent process poses numerous challenges, and frequently patients do not understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives involved in their treatment or surgical procedures, the Joint Commission says.…

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Editor's Note Last year, government regulators blocked large companies that employ many low-wage workers from claiming that insurance coverage with no inpatient hospital benefits met the Affordable Care Act’s rules. These same companies are now purporting to meet the rules with plans that exclude outpatient surgery, the January 21 Washington Post…

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Editor's Note When an initial nonoperative management strategy was chosen by patients and families, 3 in 4 children with uncomplicated acute appendicitis avoided surgery at 1-year follow-up, this study finds. Nonoperative management was associated with fewer days of disability, lower costs, and no difference in rates of complicated appendicitis or…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on November 13 identified the recall of Hamilton G5 Ventilators V2.00 and V2.31 as Class I, the most serious. The ventilator may stop working, without sounding an alarm, when the oxygen enrichment key is pressed to attach the mask to the patient. If…

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Editor's Note Almost 200 healthcare organizations sent letters to Congress urging members to restore funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The House Appropriations Committee in June voted to eliminate the research agency, and the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed a 35% cut to AHRQ’s budget. The letters…

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