Ambulatory is the term the industry is “stuck with” because that is the name the founders came up with in 1970, says David Shapiro, MD, CASC, CPHRM, LHR, an anesthesiologist with extensive experience in ambulatory surgery management and a member of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) board.…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on August 16, announced a strategic affiliation with the National Quality Forum (NQF) in an effort to accelerate improvements across the continuum of patient care and change the focus from competing measures to advancing key outcomes. The NQF will maintain its independence in developing consensus-based…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on August 9, announced that it is revising a performance measure for the advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) Certification Program—THKR-5: Postoperative Functional/Health Status Assessment—to align with a similar Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) measure. The recently adopted CMS performance measure—Hospital-Level,…

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Editor's Note This expert guidance document, sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), updates the “Strategies to Prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] Transmission and Infection in Acute Care Hospitals” that were published in 2014. Among the updates: Recommendations are now categorized as Essential Practices that should be…

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Editor's Note This study, led by nurse researchers at the College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, explores the experiences of infection preventionists (IPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses from 61 IPs surveyed were included in the analysis. Among the findings: The initial phases of COVID-19 was a time of clinical…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on July 20, announced that it will eliminate and consolidate 200 additional standards, following the first reduction announced last year. Among the changes: Critical Access Hospitals: Of 150 in-scope elements of performance (EPs), 31 were deleted or consolidated, for a 15% reduction Office-Based Surgery: Of…

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Takeaways • Healthcare consumers are not aware that they can ask how much something costs. • There is disconnect between the law and common knowledge, and patients generally are confused about what they receive as good faith estimates. • In addition to incorrect CPT codes and OON allowable charges, the…

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Using sterile items in surgery is a fundamental practice, not a rudimentary one that can or should be taken for granted. Put simply, using unsterile items can result in a patient infection. If sterile storage conditions are not appropriate, the items can become contaminated. Such contamination may go undetected, rendering…

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Editor's Note This study from New York University and NYU Langone Health, New York City, finds discrepancies between the marketing and 510(k) clearance of artificial intelligence (AI)- or machine learning (ML)-enabled medical devices, with some devices being marketed as having capabilities not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).…

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Editor's Note With increased summer time outdoor activities is an increase in injury rates, which trauma surgeons often refer to as “trauma season,” according to a July 18 report from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Brendan Campbell, MD, MPH, FACS, chair of the Injury Prevention and Control Committee of…

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