Safety/Quality
Research review: Nurse-led preoperative visits reduce anxiety, build trust
Editor's Note Nurse-led preoperative visits significantly reduce patient anxiety by providing structured education, emotional support, and greater trust between patients and caregivers, according to a review published January 21 in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing. Encompassing 13 studies on nurse-led preoperative visits published between 2000 and 2023, the review found…
Moody’s downgrades health insurance outlook as medical costs surge
Editor's Note Moody’s Ratings has shifted the health insurance industry’s credit outlook from stable to negative, according to a February 3 article in Fierce Healthcare. According to the article, the downgrade is due to escalating medical costs that outpace reimbursement rates. Analysts project an 8% rise in commercial market spending…
FDA approves new non-opioid analgesic
Editor's Note The FDA has approved Journavx (suzetrigine), a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic, for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults. According to the agency’s January 30 announcement, the drug targets sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system to block pain signals before they reach the brain, representing…
Legislation proposes to halt Medicare physician payment cuts
Editor's Note A January 31 statement from the American Medical Association (AMA) announces the organization’s support for bipartisan legislation aiming to reverse steep Medicare reimbursement reductions threatening physician practices and patient care access. Introduced by a coalition of 10 House members, the "Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act" would…
Cigna ties executive pay to patient experience
Editor's Note As part of a larger initiative to ease access to care, insurance giant Cigna is tying compensation for senior leadership directly to customer satisfaction. Modern Healthcare reported the news February 3. The shift is part of a multi-pronged approach that also includes overhauling prior authorization requirements and limiting…
Proposed tax credit aims to bolster nurse preceptor ranks
Editor's Note Bipartisan legislation seeks to combat nursing shortages by financially incentivizing experienced nurses to train the next generation of healthcare professionals, Becker’s Clinical Leadership reported January 31. The Precept Nurses Act, introduced by Rep. Jen Kiggans, would offer a $2,000 tax credit to nurses who become preceptors in health…
Study links financial conflicts of interest to favorable robotic bariatric surgery research
Editor's Note A study presented at the 2024 Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) annual meeting has revealed a significant correlation between financial conflicts of interest and favorable research outcomes in robotic bariatric surgery, General Surgery News January 18 reports. The article noted this concerning trend: authors who…
Hospitals double down on ambulatory care expansion with major investments
Editor's Note Health systems across the US are making major investments in ambulatory care, responding to increasing patient demand for lower-cost, community-based healthcare, Modern Healthcare February 4 reports. From debt financing to philanthropic campaigns, hospitals are leveraging diverse funding strategies and shifting capital investments to build and expand outpatient facilities.…
Study: Post-laparotomy incisional negative pressure wound therapy fails to reduce infection risk
Editor's Note A large international clinical trial found that incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) does not reduce surgical site infections (SSIs) following emergency laparotomy. The SUNRRISE trial, conducted across 34 hospitals in the UK and Australia and published January 27 in Jama Network, randomized 821 patients to receive either…
FDA announces multiple Class 1 recalls
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated Class 1 Recalls—the most severe category indicating serious risk of injury or death—for multiple devices over the past few days, including pressure monitoring systems, emergency resuscitators, fluid delivery sets, extracorporeal blood circuits, endoscope accessories, infusion pumps, and glucose/Ketone meters. These…
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- UCSF pioneers robotic surgery assistant certification for medical students
- Nursing demand drops in Q2 as healthcare hiring shifts toward physicians, pharmacy
- Pilot study suggests robotic force feedback may reduce tissue trauma in colorectal surgery
- Cryo nerve ablation cuts pain, narcotic use after heart surgery
- Study finds no link between long-standing preprocedural fasting and aspiration pneumonia risk
- Medicare Advantage patients see lower perioperative costs than traditional Medicare peers
- Comfort, targeted nursing speed recovery in colorectal surgery patients
- Study: Preoperative behavioral health evaluations improve orthopedic recovery
- 2026 ICD-10 updates bring hundreds of new codes, new complexity
- Standardized pathways cut costs, hospital days in pediatric surgery without raising complication rates