Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on March 23, identified the recall by Celltrion USA of certain point of care DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test kits (labeled for research use only) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the kits were distributed to customers…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 21 identified the recall by Philips Respironics of certain V60 and V60 Plus Ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because a subset of these devices had parts that were put together using an expired adhesive.…
Nurses have the highest incidence of work-related musculoskeletal injuries in the US, and OR nurses have the highest incidence among all nursing specialties. Estimates in the literature say more than 50% report chronic back pain, and 10% must leave their profession entirely because of back injuries. It is also estimated…
What happens when global supply chains—which are already typically operated lean across the board—are hit with a once-in-a-century pandemic? An ongoing, collective lesson in economics. The problem is not hard to understand: COVID-19 shutdowns brought manufacturing to a near standstill, during which time the demand for goods increased, and now there…
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare industry could fill an entire academic curriculum at this point, let alone a single article. But one potential silver lining among the storms of bad news is the increasing migration of elective procedures from hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Although…
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are ramping up cardiovascular and peripheral vascular service lines, as Medicare offers payment for a growing number of cardiac procedures and accrediting bodies offer support for this methodology. In 2021, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reported that the number of ASCs billing Medicare for cardiology procedures…
Editor's Note ECRI, on March 14, issued its annual list of Patient Safety Concerns, which is dominated this year by staffing shortages and healthcare workers’ mental health that have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, the top concerns were typically associated with clinical issues caused by…
Editor's Note The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) on March 8 announced the publication of a new report outlining actions needed to successfully battle future pandemics while fighting the rise in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Some recommendations in the 66-page report, titled “Between a Rock and Hard…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on March 7 posted the recall by Fresenius Kabi USA (Lake Zurich, Illinois) of seven lots of its Sodium Acetate Injection, USP, 400 mEq/100 mL The recall was initiated because of the presence of particulate matter found in reserve and/or stability sample vials.…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration, on March 9, identified the recall by Medtronic of its TurboHawk Plus Directional Aherectomy System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk of the guidewire in the catheter moving downward or prolapsing when force is applied…