Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on July 12 announced their new cross-specialty ACS Quality Verification Program (ACS QVP) at the 2021 ACS Quality and Safety Conference. The program provides the tools for hospitals to have a standardized approach to surgical care for all surgical patients. It is…

Read More

Editor's Note The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), on May 18, released a new perioperative medication safety self assessment to help hospitals, ASCs, and other surgery settings evaluate their medication practices and identify challenges and opportunities for improvement. The tool also offers providers a way to document compliance with…

Read More

Labor is the most important resource in an OR and must be used effectively to maintain the financial health of an organization and the well-being of patients. “OR leaders need data tools to manage their labor dollars. How do you know if you are doing it well?” asks Sharon Ulep,…

Read More

Peer review is a hot topic in the quality arena as many ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) strive to create meaningful and sustainable evaluation of their providers. “As a surveyor, I can tell you peer review trips everybody up,” says Ann Geier, MS, RN, CNOR, CASC, chief nursing officer of Surgical…

Read More

Editor's Note There is wide cost variation for five common surgical procedures in the US, this study finds. Cost observed-to-expected ratios ranged widely: 14.9-fold for colectomy 5.5-fold for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) 12.5-fold for lung resection 10.6-fold for total knee arthroplasty 28.0-fold for cesarean section. High-cost hospitals were more…

Read More

Editor's Note High Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings were not associated with improved patient outcomes in advanced laparoscopic abdominal surgery, this study finds. Morbidity at low-star hospitals was higher for colorectal surgery but not for bariatric or hiatal hernia surgery, and no significant…

Read More

Editor's Note For the third straight year, Boston Children’s Hospital tops the US News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was second, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center was third. US News bases its honor roll on how hospitals rank in each of 10…

Read More

Editor's Note Deep surgical site infection (SSI) rates in orthopedic surgical procedures may be a better tool for interhospital comparisons than overall SSI rates, this study finds. Researchers in Finland analyzed infection surveillance data for 73,227 total hip arthroplasties and 56,860 total knee arthroplasties performed in 18 hospitals from 1999…

Read More

Editor's Note More than 1,600 hospitals will get Medicare bonuses in 2017 under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program, which is about 200 fewer than last year, the November 2 Modern Healthcare reports. The results are concerning because fewer hospitals are getting bonuses and hospitals aren’t moving in the rankings,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 21 announced the addition of Veterans Administration (VA) hospital performance data to Hospital Compare. The performance data include VA satisfaction survey results as well as outcomes, behavioral health, and patient safety measures. Additional VA hospital data will be…

Read More