Editor's Note In its proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would give Medicare patients better access to innovative devices beginning next year, the July 30 MassDevice reports. CMS also says it might pay more for “certain transformative new devices” for inpatients, using a new technology add-on…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on July 22 issued a final guidance for makers of products that combine devices and drugs or biologics. The guidance clarifies how manufacturers should comply with recordkeeping requirements and how they should submit safety reports and avoid duplication.

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on July 24 named five hospitals/healthcare systems as 2019 Pioneers in Quality Expert Contributors for their leadership efforts in using electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) practices to drive their quality improvement. The five are: Baptist Health (Jacksonville, Florida) Johns Hopkins Health System (Baltimore, Maryland) Memorial…

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As part of a special series on artificial intelligence (AI), OR Manager is taking a deep dive into the many facets of this new technology and its impact on patient care. In this issue we continue our examination of the challenges related to AI, which began in last month’s issue…

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Current endoscope reprocessing methods are not consistently effective in eliminating organic soil or microbes, and the off-label use of products for defoaming, lubrication, and bleeding control may be contributing to reprocessing failures. Though endoscope manufacturers have cautioned against the use of these products, endoscopists still commonly use them, and many…

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Our series on artificial intelligence (AI) concludes in this issue with part 2 of an in-depth look at legal and ethical questions (cover story) as well as advice for evaluating new AI products (“Consider all angles when choosing AI technology,” p 13). But insights about future trends like AI do…

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Innovative technology and surgical procedures, including artificial intelligence, will be explored in depth during the OR Manager Conference, September 18-20 in New Orleans. The new OR of the Future gives attendees a unique opportunity to learn through interactive experiences, educational sessions, and discussions with leading experts: product manufacturers as well…

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This article concludes OR Manager’s special series on artificial intelligence (AI). Parts 1 and 2 (May 2019 and June 2019) introduced AI, defining the different types of technology and describing its many current and potential applications for surgery. The series also presented examples of AI (June and July 2019). We…

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Surgeons are the biggest factor in any effort to streamline and standardize the purchase of new surgical devices—and thereby lower costs. But surgeons often balk at getting involved in product review and selection because of the additional demands on their time. Two leading healthcare organizations have moved past this stumbling…

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Editor's Note Though hospitals still expect to increase their supply purchases from Amazon in the next 3 years, the percentage of respondents to a UBS Group survey who are negotiating sourcing agreements with the retailer has declined from 11% in 2018 to 7% in 2019, the July 8 Bloomberg News…

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