Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 22 identified the recall by ICU Medical (San Clemente, California) of its ChemoLock Vial Spike (20 mm) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the potential for plastic particles to break off the protective cap.…

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Editor's Note Communities in the US with more primary care physicians had lower mortality rates than those with fewer physicians, this study finds. Results showed a: 51.5 day increase in life expectancy for every 10 additional primary care physicians per 100,000 people 19.2 day increase in life expectancy for every…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 4 identified the recall by Smiths Medical (Minneapolis, Minnesota) of certain lots of Sterile Saline and Water for Inhalation as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of potential exposure to infectious agents (bacillus infantis and staphylococcus…

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There are few things more disheartening for patients than having to board in the emergency department (ED) for long periods while waiting for a bed. ED boarding can also delay treatment and adds to overcrowding and backups. Erlanger Health System, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, decided to tackle this problem head…

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Much emphasis has been placed on high-level disinfection over the past several years; however, low- and intermediate-level disinfection are also performed in healthcare facilities and are an important part of an infection prevention program. Noncritical items, defined by the Spaulding Classification as those that may contact intact skin, are cleaned…

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Each year, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) adapt to numerous federal regulatory policy reforms. As an example, since 2012, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program ASCs had been asking for, ASCs have reported data for a changing set of…

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Editor's Note In this prospective study, nonfrailty and elective surgery were positively associated with functional recovery of older patients after major surgery. Of 754 community-living patients 70 years or older who were analyzed, 266 survived major surgery with increased disability and were monitored for 6 months. A total of 174…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on February 15 identified Medtronic, Inc’s (Dublin, Ireland) recall of it’s Dual Chamber Implantable Pulse Generators (IPGs) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the possibility of a software error that can result in a lack of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 13 announced the revision of its Sentinel Event Alert on diagnostic radiation, which was updated to also address risks associated with fluoroscopy. The original Alert, “Issue 47: Radiation risks of diagnostic imaging and fluoroscopy was published in August 2011.

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Editor's Note Because a subset of patients are responsible for a disproportionate share of Medicare spending, targeting high-cost patients (ie, “hot spotting”) for cost containment efforts would be an effective strategy to reduce costs in surgical patients, this study finds. Using Medicare claims data from 2010 to 2013, University of…

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