Editor's Note The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a formal mechanism for coordinating efforts to address ongoing drug shortages, which continue to jeopardize patient care nationwide. In a report released April 9, 2025, the GAO highlighted the critical…

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Editor's Note A sharp drop in 2025 brings hospital and health system mergers and acquisitions to their lowest point in years, according to Kaufman Hall’s most recent Mergers and Acquisitions Quarterly Activity Report. Just five transactions were announced in Q1, a steep decline attributed to widespread economic volatility, concerns over…

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Editor's Note Pregnancy-related deaths in the US rose sharply from 2018 to 2022, with rates 3.8 times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native women and 2.8 times higher among non-Hispanic Black women than among White women, according to a new study published April 9 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers…

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Editor's Note As aesthetic procedures continue to migrate into freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), a new Canadian study argues that routine laboratory tests and electrocardiograms—often labeled “low‑value” in hospitals—remain a critical safety net when emergency back‑up is miles away. The manuscript was published by the Aesthetic Surgery Journal on April…

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Editor's Note A recent Duke University analysis challenges the long‑held assumption that ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) inherently deliver superior results for outpatient joint replacement, Orthopedics This Week March 18 reports. In the February 2025 Journal of Arthroplasty, researchers report that same‑day discharge total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed in a tertiary‑care hospital…

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Editor's Note What is reportedly the first technology to allow dynamic, 3D, segmental visualization of anatomy during surgery earned a second 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration, according to an April 8 press release from developer Proprio. Designed to let surgeons measure progress during surgery without scrubbing…

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Editor's Note New research offers a potential explanation for why some patients retain toxic metals long after undergoing an MRI. Published in the journal Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the findings show that gadolinium contrast agents used in MRI scans may react with common dietary compounds to form harmful metal nanoparticles in…

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Editor's Note Researchers have developed a fully dissolvable, needle-injectable pacemaker that regulates heart rhythms without requiring surgical removal. As detailed in an April 2 article in Scientific American, the miniature device—just millimeters in size—can deliver electrical stimulation for days to weeks before safely breaking down in the body, potentially reducing…

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Editor's Note Cannabis users may require higher doses of anesthetics during sedation and experience worse physical and psychological symptoms during cancer treatment, according to an April 7 announcement from the University of Oklahoma (OU). Publishing in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, a multidisciplinary team of university researchers found that cannabis users…

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Editor's Note Safety organizations are raising concerns amid increased reports of improper needle use causing vial coring, leading to potential contamination and patient risk. Published April 4 by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and ECRI/Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP), the alert offers interim guidelines to reduce risks associated…

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