Robot surgery spans continents in FDA-backed trial
Editor's Note A Florida-based surgeon successfully performed a prostate cancer surgery on a patient in Angola—7,000 miles away—marking a major milestone in transcontinental robotic telesurgery, according to a June 17 article from ABC News. The procedure, conducted by Dr. Vipul Patel of Advent Health’s Global Robotic Institute, is reportedly the…
Study: Language barriers raise sepsis death risk despite faster treatment
Editor's Note Patients hospitalized with sepsis who have limited English proficiency (LEP) face significantly higher odds of dying in the hospital even after accounting for multiple demographic and clinical factors, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference by researchers from UC San Diego. Healio reported the…
Lung transplant waitlist deaths drop under new composite allocation system
Editor's Note Implementation of the Composite Allocation Score (CAS) in lung transplantation significantly reduced the proportion of patients who died or were removed from the waitlist, including those with the most urgent medical need, according to a June 17 article in Healio. The findings were presented at the American Thoracic…
Low-income patients face uphill battle overturning insurance claim denials, study shows
Editor's Note Patients earning less than $50,000 annually are significantly less likely to have denied insurance claims reversed compared to wealthier individuals, according to a new study published in Health Affairs and reported by Fierce Healthcare on June 5. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of…
Medicaid data shared with DHS to aid immigration enforcement
Editor's Note The Trump administration ordered federal health officials this week to share personal data from Medicaid enrollees with deportation authorities, the Associated Press (AP) reported June 14. According to the report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was given just 54 minutes on Tuesday to transfer enrollee…
High drug manufacturing costs threaten hospital-led pharmacy expansion
Editor's Note Hospitals are ramping up in-house pharmacy operations to boost revenue and improve care, but high US manufacturing costs continue to stall a broader federal effort to reshore drug production, Modern Healthcare June 5 reports. As detailed in the article, an aging, medically complex population is driving demand for…
Telesurgery possibilities becoming more than remote
Remote surgery has come a long way since the first-ever case in 2001, when a surgeon in New York City operated on a patient in Strasbourg, France. No longer a product of science fiction, telesurgery’s advance promises to change—and save—countless lives, from patients in remote areas to those in warzones…
State AGs sue HHS over sweeping cuts
Editor's Note State attorneys general from 20 states filed suit to block major restructuring and layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleging the actions bypass Congress, violate federal law, and endanger public health. As detailed in a May 5 report from Fierce Healthcare, the lawsuit seeks…
CMS vision shifts as agency halts funding for state programs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will no longer approve federal matching funds for designated state health programs (DSHPs) and designated state investment programs (DSIPs) that are not directly related to Medicaid services. According to the April 10 announcement, the decision aims to preserve the core…
Low-cost blood test predicts cardiovascular event risk
Editor's Note A low-cost blood test for troponin, a protein released during heart muscle damage, significantly improves long-term risk prediction for heart attacks and strokes—especially in patients with intermediate cardiovascular risk, according to an April 7 report from News-Medical.Net. The findings, based on a large-scale international study led by the…
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- Health systems lean toward established partners for AI adoption
- Immigration raids are driving patients back to telehealth and ERs
- Study: Global access to surgery deemed a crisis, leaves 160 million without care
- Large-scale studies link preoperative cognition to delirium risk, reveal its deadly toll after surgery
- Socioeconomic deprivation linked to lower fitness before surgery, UK study finds
- Perioperative medication decisions need individualized risk-benefit approach
- FDA: National IV saline shortage over after years of strained supply
- FDA announces Class 1 recall for Draeger breathing filters
- Hospital CEO departures surge, boards turn to interim leadership
- Study: Attire shapes patient trust, perceptions