Editor's Note More CEOs are considering rural emergency hospital (REH) designation, according to a February 12 article in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. In 2021, REH was established as a new Medicare provider type to enable struggling rural hospitals to continue operating with outpatient and emergency services only, instead of closing.…

Read More

Editor's Note Postoperative telehealth for general surgery patients is both safe and effective, according to a study published on December 22 in The American Journal of Surgery. The study consisted of a retrospective review of 1,075 veterans undergoing qualifying procedures at a medical center from June 2019 to September 2021.…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, examines whether the decision to operate or not operate for an emergency general surgery condition affects Black and White patients differently. A total of 556,087 Medicare patients (59,519 Black and 496,568 White) were included in the analysis. Overall, 165,932 (29.8%)…

Read More

Editor's Note Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, find lower mortality rates following emergency general surgery (EGS) in Black and White patients when exposed to primary care prior to the surgical procedure. The retrospective cohort study included 102,384 Medicare patients aged 66 or older who were admitted from the…

Read More

Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS), on July 10, announced the first five hospitals verified under its Emergency General Surgery Verification Program (ACS EGS-VP). EGS-VP is a surgical quality program created by ACS and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma to help hospitals align resources and…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission’s Ambulatory Buzz on April 24 published five precautionary tips for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to implement in order to “respond quickly and effectively” to emergencies during outpatient surgery. They are: Establish a culture of safety. Prior to a surgical procedure, conduct a comprehensive physical examination…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, finds that nonoperative management of acute appendicitis was associated with reduced complications in older but not younger patients. Included in the analysis was data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Inpatient Sample on 474,845 patients with…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, researchers find that Black Medicare patients were less likely to receive surgical consultations than White Medicare patients after being admitted from the emergency department (ED) with an emergency general surgery condition. Of 1,686,940 Medicare patients included in the analysis,…

Read More

Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) on September 21 announced the launch of a new surgical quality program to help hospitals establish and maintain the highest standards in emergency general surgery. The Emergency General Surgery Verification Program focuses on…

Read More