Safety/Quality
FBI, HHS issue healthcare cybersecurity warning
Editor's Note A June 24 advisory from the FBI and Department of Health and Human Services warns healthcare organizations about attempts to steal payments through phishing and social engineering tactics, according to a post from the American Hospital Association (AHA). The attackers target employee email accounts to access login information…
Leadership survey: Operational demands overwhelming hospitals
Editor's Note Nearly half of hospital executives report that their hospitals are not fully prepared to cope with patient volumes, Becker’s Hospital Review reported June 13. Citing the June 12 Hospital Operations Outlook Survey from FTI Consulting, Becker’s reports that nursing and mental and behavior health specialists represent the greatest…
Study highlights CMS hospital star rating limitations
Editor's Note CMS hospital star ratings may not be a reliable tool for assessing surgical quality, according to a study published June 18 in JAMA Surgery. Researchers acknowledge that higher ratings are generally associated with improved postoperative outcomes, including fewer complications and lower 30-day mortality rates. However, as reported by…
Kidney transplant performed on awake patient
Editor's Note In a first for Northwestern Medicine, surgeons performed a kidney transplant on an awake patient, CBS News reported June 24. John Nicholas, 28, of Chicago, experienced no pain during the May 24 procedure, in which he received an organ from a childhood friend. He was discharged the next…
Russian ransomware group threatens cybersecurity beyond London attack
Editor's Note Qilin, a ransomware group based in Russia, claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against pathology services provider Synnovis that paralyzed London Hospitals and is now requesting $50 million, Becker’s Health IT reported June 20. Citing a report from Bloomberg, the article notes that the attack disrupted services at London-based hospitals…
Change Healthcare issues notifications of patient data stolen in cyberattack
Editor's Note Change Healthcare has started to notify health care providers about patient data stolen in the February cyberattack and announced plans to mail affected individuals as well. A unit of UnitedHealth Group, the organization issued the update June 20. “CHC is providing this notice now to help individuals understand…
Editorial: Are you a perioperative nurse or an OR nurse?
For me, the answer is easy. For 25 years I have consistently said, “I’ve never nursed an OR a day in my life; it’s always been the patients.” As perioperative nurses, what we do is about more than where we work. Why is it that 25 years after the Association…
Scaling standards from sterile processing department to clinic
Reforming instrument reprocessing practices does not always end with the main sterile processing department (SPD). Holding clinics to the same standard adds to the challenge, whether they are associated with hospitals or operate independently. Nonetheless, standardization is just as essential to maintaining efficiency and quality standards. Establishing and maintaining best…
State of the huddle: The barriers to and benefits of preop meetings
Complex problems do not always require complex solutions. Consider the surgical safety checklist. In 2020, more than a decade after the World Health Organization (WHO) started advocating that every hospital use the checklist, research from PSNET found that more than 90% of ORs in countries with a high human development…
The rise of AI in radiology—and what the future holds
When it comes to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, radiology is leading the charge. As of May 13, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved nearly 900 AI- and machine learning (ML)-enabled devices, and the vast majority of them are in radiology. One example…
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- AHA study: HOPD Medicare patients are poorer, sicker, more rural than those seen in physician offices
- ACS, Lifesaving Technologies launch nationwide effort to expand bleeding control readiness
- Minimally invasive ICH surgery evacuates clot fast but fails to improve 6-month outcomes
- Rural hospitals face crisis under OBBBA as experts call for cohesive reform
- AMA urges health systems to act now on AI governance
- Suicide Prevention Month: Hospitals prepare for new The Joint Commission suicide prevention goal, effective 2026
- Survey: Perioperative leaders adapt to supply strain, staffing pressure, ASC growth
- Gait retraining eases knee osteoarthritis pain as effectively as medication, can delay knee surgery
- OR leaders must sharpen questions, partnerships as AI reshapes perioperative care
- npj Digital Surgery opens call for research on AI, robotics in the OR