As representatives of a global healthcare solutions company, we talk and listen to clinicians at hospitals around the country. One of the issues that continually surfaces is that physician preference cards (PPCs) are a challenge at their hospitals. We hear many frustrations related to supply chain documentation. In the end, it all comes…
The growth of value-based healthcare models is changing the way physicians and hospitals provide care. In value-based models, providers are paid based on patient outcomes. The “value” is derived from measuring health outcomes against the cost of delivering the outcomes. This balancing act has now become more achievable with new…
Editor's Note About half of patients with appendicitis do not need an appendectomy for up to 4 years after receiving antibiotics, finds this study presented October 25 at the American College of Surgeons virtual Clinical Congress 2021. The study was conducted at 25 US medical centers in 1,552 adults with…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, finds that the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist is positively impacting the things it was explicitly designed to address. The analysis included 36 articles and 20 systematic reviews. A thematic analysis revealed…
Editor's Note This study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that practice interruptions in the treatment of Medicare patients spiked in April 2020, and interruption-without-return rates were larger for older physicians. In this analysis of 547,849 physicians billing Medicare: Practice…
Telehealth services grew exponentially in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall telehealth utilization for office visits and outpatient care was 78 times higher in April 2020 than in February 2020, according to a McKinsey & Company July 2021 report. Since then, telehealth utilization has stabilized at levels that…
Editor's Note Zimmer Biomet on August 31 presented data at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2021 annual meeting that highlighted the clinical value of its MyMobility platform with Apple Watch, the August 31 Mass Device reports. MyMobility is a remote care management platform that helps guide and support patients…
Editor's Note This study by researchers with the University of Birmingham, England-led COVIDSurg-GlobalSurg Collaboratives (global partnerships of more than 15,000 surgeons) finds that patients who isolate before their surgical procedures to protect themselves from COVID-19 have a higher risk of postoperative pulmonary complications than those who don’t isolate. Researchers analyzed…
Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on August 4 announced the launch of a “Talk It Up” campaign to help surgeons address their patients’ concerns and help them understand the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The campaign includes a series of videos about the importance of vaccination,…
Editor's Note In a July 14 news release, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) said the proposed Medicare physician fee schedule for CY 2022 poses a threat to surgical patient care. The proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) maintains cuts to surgical care that Congress…
