Chinese medical devices threaten US healthcare cybersecurity
Editor’s Note Backdoors in Chinese-made medical monitors could put patients at risk and compromise hospital networks across the US, according to security agencies quoted in a February 23 report from CNBC. The article cites the popular Contec CMS8000 patient monitor as an example. Both the US Food and Drug Administration…
OR am – 1-31-2025
January 31, 2025 Process improvement Listen now: Intervention improves implant billing, documentation accuracy Study: Machine learning model improves perioperative pain assessment A new machine learning model using photoplethysmogram (PPG) data more accurately assesses pain during and after surgery compared to existing commercial methods, according to research…
Proposed HIPAA updates would improve cybersecurity, increase costs for healthcare providers
Editor’s Note Entities covered by the HIPAA security rule may soon need to adapt to more prescriptive requirements, new compliance mandates, and significantly higher costs, according to a January 24 report from TechTarget. As outlined in a December notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), the proposal by the Department of Health…
OR am – 1-14-2025
January 14, 2025 Diversity, equity, and inclusion Listen now: Aiming For Inclusivity: Enhancing Diversity in Perioperative Services HIPAA security standard update sparks debate over cost, feasibility, patient safety The first federal overhaul of the HIPAA Security Rule in over a decade aims to address modern cybersecurity…
HIPAA security standard update sparks debate over cost, feasibility, patient safety
Editor's Note The first federal overhaul of the HIPAA Security Rule in over a decade aims to address modern cybersecurity threats but has drawn sharp criticism from health systems over its cost and feasibility, according to a January 13 article in Axios. According to the article, the proposed changes require…
OR am – 12-12-2024
December 12, 2024 Recruitment and retention Listen now: How perianesthesia onboarding succeeds for new nurse graduates Study: ORs with radiant air conditioning more comfortable than those with convection systems Radiant air conditioning systems (RAS) provide greater comfort for surgical patients than traditional convection air conditioning systems…
Video details healthcare cybersecurity challenges
Editor's Note "Why is healthcare cybersecurity so bad?" This is the central question explored in a December 4 video from STAT health tech reporter Brittany Trang, who also wrote an article on the subject earlier this year. Brought into sharp focus by data exposures related to the recent attack on…
AI risks top ECRI’s 2025 list of health technology hazards
Editor's Note Artificial intelligence (AI) enabled technologies present the greatest technology risk to healthcare organizations in 2025, according to the latest list from ECRI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to safety in the industry. As detailed in the organization’s December 4 announcement, the annual report highlights critical risks that healthcare organizations…
OR am – 11-21-2024
November 21, 2024 Nurse competency Listen now: Specialty nursing teams improve patient outcomes, OR team satisfaction FDA Class 1 recalls target anesthesia workstations, ambulatory infusion pumps, ventilators The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated Class 1 recalls—the most severe category indicating risk of serious…
Hospital financial report predicts stability, high cybersecurity costs for 2025
Editor's Note Hospitals’ financial outlook is stable, although growth is slowing and certain costs are projected to increase, particularly for cybersecurity, according to two recent Becker’s reports on data from Moody’s Investor Services. The first, published November 14 in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report, notes that “hospitals are facing a stable…