Editor's Note ECRI, on May 18, announced the winners of its annual 2023 Alerts Impact Award. The Award is given to members of ECRI’s Alerts Workflow system for excellence in recall management. The system’s software is used by supply chain, clinical engineering, IT, pharmacy, lab, clinical departments, and ancillary-care points…

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Editor's Note Cybersecurity remains a top concern and potential hazard for patient data. In February, Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was attacked by a ransomware gang BlackCat, which has ties to Russia, Becker’s Health IT reports. The health system has since notified 627 individuals and will continue to…

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Editor's Note According to a May 14 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is continuing with the persistent, systemic problems that impaired its ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other public health crises, such as H1N1 influenza, Zika,…

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Editor's Note Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find the emerging COVID-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, dubbed Arcturus, is responsible for more than 14% of COVID-19 cases in the US over the past 2 weeks, up from nearly 7% in the prior 2 weeks, according to the May…

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Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Centers on May 10 issued an alert saying that cyber attacks against Veeam Backup & Replication software are on the rise, the American Hospital Association reports. What makes the threat significant is that this software is…

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Editor's Note A qualitative study funded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and published in JAMA Network Open in April 2023 found that a majority of diagnostic errors are "at least partially caused by problems with electronic health records" (EHR), the American Organization for Nursing Leadership May 9…

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Editor's Note On May 4, ECRI announced that Guthrie Clinic, Sayre, Pennsylvania, is the winner of its 2023 Health Technology Excellence Award. The annual award honors an organization that implements an exceptional initiative to improve patient safety, reduce costs, and facilitate better strategic management of health technology. Guthrie Clinic won…

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Editor's Note A study led by researchers at Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, finds use of a timed storage and dispensing device for bulk-packaged electrocardiography (ECG) electrodes significantly improves compliance. The study included seven operating rooms (ORs) that used a bin with an automated countdown timer…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, finds that air flush cycles used in automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) may not adequately dry endoscope channels, particularly narrow air/water channels. Endoscopes were reprocessed per protocol with a 3-minute or 10-minute air flush following reprocessing.…

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Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are continuing to perform more and more surgical procedures. According to Fortune Business Insights, ASCs can expect to see even greater case volumes as the number of outpatient procedures is estimated to increase by 15% by 2028. With an increase in procedures, it is essential that…

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