Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 26 identified the recall of Abbott Medical’s Dragonfly OpStar Imaging Catheter as Class I, the most serious. Abbott is recalling certain lots of the imaging catheter because the marker band farthest from the catheter tip (proximal marker) may become loose…

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Editor's Note ECRI on May 25 announced the three winners and three finalists of its 2022 Alerts Impact Award for excellence in recall management. The annual award is given to those who have demonstrated strong success in implementing recall management programs in their healthcare organizations. The winners are: Eskenazi Health,…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has engaged experts from the private sector and various government agencies to “share information and best practices, identify threats, and mitigate risks” regarding the US supply chains, including for healthcare, according to an Office of the Assistant Secretary for…

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While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve with impacts shifting over time, some of the changes it brought to healthcare—specifically the OR—may be permanent. One trend it accelerated: the rise in new ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), which specialize in elective or same-day outpatient surgical procedures. While this trend was largely…

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Editor's Note In this session, Brooke Mullett, MBA, senior director of operations for perioperative and surgical services at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), and Ash Crowe, project manager at St. Onge Company, walked attendees through a $100 million renovation project of the CCHMC ORs and surgical supply inventory. Even…

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Editor's Note On May 5, McLaren Northern Michigan was named the winner of ECRI’s 16th Health Technology Excellence Award for its integration of patient-care technologies into new hospital construction. The award-winning submission described the hospital’s plan to build 200 private patient rooms, a range of clinical care areas, as well…

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Hospitals and health systems know they are attractive targets for cybercriminals. When lives are at stake, and the victims are often insured, ransomware gangs can expect a quick and easy payout. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, hospitals have had to face a new reality: The…

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There is more than one way to skin a blue wrap—and transform its utility. Faced with overwhelming amounts of waste, teams in operating rooms are finding creative solutions, taking discarded medical supplies and repurposing them into bed pans, COVID masks, or in some cases, works of art. For many health…

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Is technology part of the answer for nursing staff woes? As COVID-19 patients continue to fill hospital beds, caregivers are feeling exhausted, burned out, and unappreciated. OR nurses have been especially hit hard, as shifts in surgeries and overflowing patient wards stretch OR nurses beyond their limits and comfort zones.…

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Editor's Note In an HC3: Analyst Note alert released on April 18, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a cybersecurity threat warning for a new ransomware group named Hive that HHS called “exceptionally aggressive” and “financially motivated,” Becker’s Health IT April 20 reports. According to the alert,…

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