Editor's Note The current method for identifying heart transplant candidates with the most urgent need might not be the best one. In a study published February 13 in Jama Network, a candidate risk score incorporating the latest clinical, laboratory, and hemodynamic data out-performed the current treatment-based categorical allocation system.  …

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Editor's Note Evidence-informed and specialty-specific models of nursing assessment and ward redesign can benefit hospital safety, according to a study published January 27 in the International Journal of Nursing Studies. Called the ENCORE (evidence-based nursing core assessment) trial, the large-scale study led by Queensland University of Technology included 29,385 patient…

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Editor's Note Following up with a nursing guide in addition to the the modified early warning score (MEWS) helps reduce early postoperative complications, according to the results of a recent clinical trial. Nursing guide application in patients followed up according to MEWS also decreased ISCU admission, decreased MEWS and increased…

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Editor's Note Although few strategies for reducing readmission rates leverage nurse input, nurses are well-placed to identify patients most at risk, according to a study published in the March issue of the journal Medical Care. The authors note that older Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) continue to experience…

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Editor's Note More CEOs are considering rural emergency hospital (REH) designation, according to a February 12 article in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. In 2021, REH was established as a new Medicare provider type to enable struggling rural hospitals to continue operating with outpatient and emergency services only, instead of closing.…

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Editor's Note Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University Hospital Dresden (UKD) have developed a portable, droplet-based millifluidic device that can monitor patients for postoperative pancreatic fistula in the critical first days after surgery. The same technology might also be expanded to analyze other body fluids and diseases.…

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Takeaways Research shows that there are high nurse burnout rates from systemic workplace issues, including unmanageable case-loads, poor communication, excessive administrative burdens and an overall lack of care. Nurse wellness programs—including resilience training, peer-to-peer counseling, and meditation—are critical, because of high exposure to trauma and suffering, but these efforts need…

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What is the purpose of the top 10 health technology hazards list, released every year by ECRI? “Our number one goal at ECRI is to reduce preventable harm,” stresses Jason Launders, MSC, former director of operations, device evaluation, at ECRI. “We know that every healthcare provider has a lot they…

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Sterile Processing Department (SPD) managers and technicians know a thing or two about pressure. In a recent webinar covering sterile processing basics, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, Inc, and Abby Smart, MPH, research associate, cited the example of a 480-bed hospital that performed 13,650…

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Editor's Note A week after a walkout of junior doctors in South Korea halted about a third of surgeries at large hospitals in Seoul, the government is threatening prosecution and the revocation of medical licenses if the walkout doesn’t end by February 29. As reported by the Associated Press February…

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